The Chosen Ones
by wormmm
Summary: Only four teenagers can prevent an evil corporation from complete world domination. Interlude: No matter which path you take, destiny is always at the other end.
1. Just An Ordinary Day

**The Chosen Ones**

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Tekken.

Disclaimer 2: This is my first attempt at fan fiction…ever. I am open to constructive criticism. I hope you all enjoy.

**PAK PAK PAK PAK**

The usually tranquil forest was being ravaged by a heated gunfight this morning. Jin could feel the wind as the bullets flew past him, missing him by mere millimeters. He dove behind a thicket of bushes and crawled behind the nearest tree. "This is definitely not good," he though to himself. He checked his gun. There were only several bullets left; even though he was a talented 18-year old martial artist, he would have been the first to admit that he was a lousy shot. Jin decided that there was only one option left: to make one last stand. It was obvious that if he decided to run away from his attacker, it would be only a matter of time before he was hit.

Jin checked his gun again and readied himself. He finally launched himself out of his hiding place and started firing his gun, staring down the barrel of the gun twenty feet away aiming straight at him.

**PAK PAK PAK PAK**

Jin didn't even get the chance to pull the trigger. He got hit four times in midair: three times on his left shoulder and once in his stomach. He fell to the ground hard and landed on his left shoulder. He groaned in pain. He was hurt…hurt bad.

"Wow…I think that was the longest you've lasted. You're getting better at the game, but you're still no match for me!" exclaimed the victorious Ling Xiaoyu. Ling took off her paint-ball goggles and ran over to him.

Jin groaned as he got up from the grass and smiled at Ling. "You know, it's a good thing that we don't invite our other friends to paintball with us. You would wipe the floor with them even if it was everybody against you", said Jin.

Jin and Ling have gotten very close in the past couple of years. They met in freshman biology class and were assigned as lab partners on the first day. Since then, they have met countless times to memorize the steps of photosynthesis, explain to each other the steps of cell reproduction, proofread each other's history papers, and basically, just hang out. Recently, Ling has introduced Jin to the world of paintball. While Ling finds the sport very fun, every round so far has ended in Jin in pain with brightly-colored blotches of paint on him.

Ling picked up Jin's gun off the floor and placed it in her backpack. She took off her protective vest to reveal a dark blue and white top with a blue ribbon near the color. She was also wearing a plaid green and blue skirt with long white socks and fancy black shoes. Her silky, black hair was in pigtails. While her appearance and petite figure made her look very young, she was actually on the verge of graduating high school with Jin at 17 years old.

Jin rubbed left shoulder with his right hand. Even with the vest, three direct shots in rapid succession stung quite a bit. After painstakingly taking the vest off, he handed it to Ling, who put both vests in her backpack. Jin was wearing a green vest over a white undershirt with dark slacks and black shoes. Their school uniform was a little wrinkled and dirty from the action of the morning, but he would have to go to school looking a little disheveled; he didn't have time to go back home and change. Jin brushed his long strands of black hair out of his eyes and looked at his watch disapprovingly. "This is the third time straight we are going to be late for our first class. Maybe we should stop paint-balling in the morn--" Jin started, but he was interrupted by Ling's look of utter terror.

"If we are late one more time, Mr. H is gonna give us both two weeks detention! I need that time after school to practice my martial arts, or Grandpa will get really mad! Let's hurry!" Ling had already run off, leaving Jin in sitting there in the grass, still in some pain.

Jin finally got to school two minutes late. If Ling hadn't hit him in the shoulder three times, he would have been able to fully swing his arms in a quick run. Outside of the large, gray building was a lone figure sitting on the bench. "Of course…it has to be him…life just never gives me a break" Jin thought to himself. Hwoarang seemed immersed in the loud rock music on his iPod. "Maybe if I walk past him quietly he won't notice me. I don't want trouble this early in the morning." Ever since Jin and Hwoarang got in a small argument after school several years ago, Hwoarang has wanted to take it out physically ever since. Jin knew that he was an accomplished Tae Kwon Do practitioner who was training under the best, the legendary Baek Do San.

As Jin started approaching, Hwoarang said without looking up, "Kazama. You, me, right now. Nobody's here except us." Jin sighed, but pretended not to hear. He just walked past him and through the glass door into the school. As the door closed behind him, he could hear Hwoarang shout, "Hey..HEY!"

The truth was, if Jin's shoulder weren't bugging him, he would probably beat Hwoarang in a match. However, Jin's late mother, who was the primary figure in his life, taught him to only use his Kazama style martial arts only when the situation warranted it; and Jin thought that a rivalry with a schoolmate didn't qualify as a worthy situation.

Jin finally got to the door of his first class: Chemistry. As he opened the door, all eyes turned to him. He eyed the chair next to Ling and embarrassingly started to walk towards it, looking down to hide his red face. He kicked Ling's chair on the way in some resentment for leaving him there. When he finally looked up, he noticed a pretty girl about his age standing in front of the class. He had never seen her before, yet she was in a school uniform like Ling's.

Mr. H looked at Jin sternly. "Now that we are all here, I would like all of you to meet a new student. She is from the United States," explained Mr. H. There was a small eruption of gasps from the class. "Class, this is Julia Chang" The pretty girl named Julia waved nervously at the entire class.


	2. Time Stands Still

Mr. H motioned Julia towards an empty table near the front of the room. Twenty-four pairs of eyes burned holes into her as she pathetically made her way towards the table and slumped down. "This day is going to be the hardest…everything else will be easier as time passes," repeated Julia to herself. She dug in her backpack for her chemistry book nervously; she still could feel the stares.

With fumbled movements, Julia accidentally dropped her glasses case on the floor. She turned red and bent down to pick it up. To her surprise, a young man had already picked it up and set it on the table. "Hey Julia" the young man said, "my name's Jin. This is my friend Ling." Jin motioned to the pretty girl sitting next to him. The girl named Ling waved wildly at her.

"Hey…ummm…thanks," fumbled Julia. The beet-red girl quickly turned towards the front of the class, put on her glasses, and opened her chemistry book all in one fluid motion. Maybe Julia was wrong about this whole transferring-to-a-different-school-in-a-different-country deal. The people seemed nice enough…

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"I swear, Xiao, if we're late again today, I'll beat you to a bloody pulp!" worried Jin. Jin always called Ling "Xiao" whenever he was a little moody.

"Fine, Jin, we'll only play two rounds today instead of five." That should give us plenty of time to get to school. We could probably even stop for a bite to eat and still have ten minutes before the bell rings," said Ling.

Jin and Ling were once again in the forest that they passed by as they went to school. Ling was very insistent on them playing paintball again. Jin…not so much. They made their way to the usual clearing…the clearing that they have been meeting and have claimed their own since their freshman year.

Ling opened up her backpack and took out the paintball guns and the protective vests. "Ling, where do you put your books?" asked Jin.

"Hahaha…and you wonder why I need your help in math," laughed Ling. Jin chuckled, "You know, if you took school more seriously, I bet your grandpa wouldn't be so hard on you." "Jin Kazama, don't give me this song and dance," exhaled Ling, "I've heard it countless times before--".

Suddenly, they heard footsteps and the rustling of leaves in a patch of trees to their left. By instinct, Jin took an offensive position while Ling aimed both of her paintball guns towards the sound.

"Wait…don't shoot!" emerged a voice. There were a couple more footsteps, and Jin and Ling could see that the voice belonged to that new exchange student, Julia (also the student who Ling accused Jin of trying to hit-on yesterday in chemistry).

"Oh my gosh…I was about to pelt you with 40 paintballs in five seconds!" exhaled a very relieved Ling as she dropped the guns.

"Sorry guys…I didn't know you guys were here. I was just wandering around the forest on my way to school. It is so beautiful," explained an even-more-relieved Julia.

"Yeah…Ling and I have used this forest as our hangout. It's pretty cool," said Jin.

"Hmmm…I don't think the trees would approve of you guys shooting paintballs at them," replied Julia. Ling and Jin gave her puzzled looks. "Oh…sorry. I'm kind of a nature freak", chuckled Julia, "and my mother is currently researching on alternate ways of rejuvenating infertile soil in reforestation attempts. I plan to do the same once I get out of college."

"Wow…it seems like you've got a good head on your shoulders…more than I can say about myself, school is somewhat of a challenge for me…" laughed Ling.

"Speaking of school," segued Jin, "should we be going?"

"Gahhh…ever-the-cautious Jin…fine," sighed Ling, "we didn't even get to paintball this morning!" Jin, Ling, and Julia walked out towards the edge of the forest and started along the street to school. While they were walking, they discovered that they all had something in common: they were all trained in martial arts by a relative. Jin was trained in Kazama-style fighting by his mother, Ling was trained in Hakke Sho by her grandfather, and Julia was trained in Kenpo by her mother. The group was becoming fast friends.

In the middle of their conversation, a motorcycle zoomed past them on the road, almost hitting Julia. She let out a little yelp of surprise. The driver the motorcycle looked back and turned around, driving straight towards them. The motorcyclist pulled to a stop in front of the group and took off his tinted helmet. The orange-haired Hwoarang wiped the sweat off his brow. He didn't even acknowledge Jin in the presence of Ling.

"Hey Ling, want a ride to school?" He tossed his spare helmet to her. Jin rolled his eyes, and Julia seemed somewhat eager.

"Ummm…err…uhh…hey Hwoarang, have you met Julia? She just transferred and she's from the States," fumbled Ling.

"Hey," replied Hwoarang offhandedly. He then turned his attention towards Ling again. Hwoarang's crush on Ling has always made her uncomfortable…they seemed to have nothing in common.

While trying to reach every corner in her mind to find an excuse not to hop on the bike, she finally realized that she left her paintball guns in the clearing. "Oh crap, sorry Hwoarang, I have to go back to the forest and get something," she explained.

"It's O.K., I can get them," replied Hwoarang quickly, and he swiftly hopped off his motorcycle and ran into the forest.

Ten minutes passed, and Hwoarang hadn't emerged from the forest. Jin started to worry about getting to school, "O.K., now we are definitely going to be late."

"Well…what am I supposed to do?" asked Ling, "he didn't even know what to look for or where to go…"

"Maybe we should go in and look for him…I don't want to give the school a bad impression," suggested Julia. They all agreed, and made their way back to the clearing, taking turns shouting Hwoarang's name every couple of seconds. When they got to the clearing, Ling put the guns in her backpack and continued yelling Hwoarang's name.

After ten more minutes, Hwoarang emerged from the forest into the edge of the clearing, red-faced and embarrassed. Ling saw the disheveled Hwoarang and began to feel sorry for him. "O.K., now that you're here, you can take me to school," Ling said, almost immediately regretting the words as they escaped her mouth. Hwoarang finally lightened up smirked, making her way to Ling, pushing Jin with his shoulder in the process. Jin sighed and went over to Julia.

"Shall we go?" asked Julia, and the four of them turned around towards the other edge of the clearing. Suddenly, a young woman in a white dress appeared from the forest. The four were startled by the sudden emergence of this strange woman, but Jin and Ling were outright terrified. Their backpacks seemed to drop in slow motion as time seemed to stop. "Oh my God," gasped Jin.

"This isn't happening," cried Ling.

"Umm…do you two know this woman?" asked Julia. The woman was just standing there, staring at the group.

"I've…I've only seen pictures of her...but…but…" stammered Ling.

"That's my mom…and she's been dead for six years…" finished Jin.

**Somewhere else in the world**

A balding man was looking over a computer. Various numerical figures quickly scrolled throughout the screen, and a smile crept over his face. A silver-haired man came up from behind. "Everything is in order. On your word, we will enter our last phase of preparation," said the silver-haired man. The balding man acknowledged him, and the silver-haired man left the room. He exhaled, "Who said world domination wasn't easy?"


	3. Visions Of The Past

_Note: Sorry for the delay between chapters. I started this story in my winter break, and now I'm back in school. I'll try to keep up, but there are no guarantees, with all my schoolwork and such._

**Three Months Ago**

Asuka Kazama rounded the street corner, walking with a spring in her step. Everybody back at home would be so proud of her. "Wow…today was definitely an awesome day," she thought out loud, "I aced my Calculus midterm, I know I aced that Bio pop quiz today, and my needy ex finally got the clue that we are through!" Asuka felt like she was on top of the world and nothing would be able to bring her down. She started whistling a tune and played with the green and blue skirt of her school uniform. She swung her book bag back and forth without a care in the world.

Asuka rounded the last corner saw her father's dojo down the street. She noticed that the door was left wide open with nobody outside. While this was out of the ordinary, she didn't think anything of it. However, as she got closer, she automatically sensed something wrong. Suddenly, she got a very low sinking feeling in her stomach.

She entered the dojo and she was horrified at what she saw. It looked like the dojo was vandalized. Everything that could be moved in the dojo was upturned. Pictures were torn and thrown everywhere. Some of the boards on the dojo floor and the far wall were cracked. The entire floor was almost covered with debris. However, through the debris, Asuka could see a trail of blood which led to the next room on the left. She dropped her book bag and assumed the defensive position that her father taught her.

Cautiously, Asuka sidestepped through the debris and approached the next room. If it were possible, it seemed as if there were more debris on the floor than in the previous room. The blood trail led to the door on the right. She could hear somebody gasping for breath in the next room. Asuka approached the door and saw a strange, shirtless man who she has never seen before in the room. His back was turned to her, and she noticed his long black braid. He wore gold bracelets on both wrists. His pants were plain red on one side, while there was a pattern of gold and green on the other side, each with matching shoes.

As she was mentally cataloguing the shoes he wore, she noticed the trail of blood ended at the corner of the room. She saw her father, gasping for air to enter his lungs, with blood and bruises covering his face. While it seemed that he had gone through much more bodily harm than humanly possible, his eyes burned with rage and determination in place of the utter fear that most would have. All of the color left out of Asuka's face as she saw her father in such a state.

Suddenly, the strange man started to walk toward him, raising his right fist. It was then that she noticed that his fists were covered in blood. Her father's blood. Filled with anger, she picked up a relatively sharp stake that was among the debris on the floor and quickly threw it at the stranger, aiming at the back of his left knee to stop his advances.

The stake entered the back of his knee with a sickening sound, and the stranger howled in pain. He pulled the bloodied stake out with an even more sickening sound. He turned around and faced Asuka. As he sized up the young woman, a small smile crept over his face. His angular features seemed to portray the many battles that he has fought. His entire torso was covered with sweat; obviously, a furious battle had been waged between Asuka's father and him.

"Asuka, no!" screamed her father. However, his scream may as well have come from 100 yards away. She only focused on the stranger; the stranger who was now approaching her with a limp in the leg that she injured. Even with his limp, he looked menacing. _Get yourself ready, you're in for the fight of your life_ thought Asuka.

Suddenly, a voice entered the room. "Your mission has been compromised. You are ordered to return to the rendez-vous point and back to HQ with the sample in hand," said the voice. As it was speaking, the stranger touched his left ear, and Asuka noticed the earpiece that the voice came from.

Muttering a swear, he walked to the far wall and punched it with an amazing amount of force. The building shook as a portion of the wall was obliterated. Asuka covered her eyes. He walked through and looked back at her. He gave her an evil smirk, turned around, and ran with amazing speed for a man with an injured leg.

Asuka remembered that face and the evil smirk that crept up on his face that fateful day. It would continually haunt her dreams. She decided that the face of the stranger was the face of pure evil.

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**Present Day**

"This can't be…it just can't," Jin stammered. He turned his back on what seemed to be his mother and started walking the other way. Suddenly, the vision appeared before him.

"Jin…my son. Listen to me," muttered Jun in a loving voice as she reached to touch his cheek. Jin let out a small shriek and backed away with fear in his eyes.

"What the hell?" gasped Hwoarang, as he looked at the Jun that was standing where they first saw her, and the second Jun that appeared behind them. As he was backing away, he tripped on a stray branch and fell on his bottom.

"Everyone sees her, right? It isn't just me?" Ling asked pathetically. She already knew the answer to her question.

"Children, please, listen to what I have to say," said the calm Jun. Her gaze hypnotized the four teenagers. Suddenly, the scenery changed. Visions of heaven and hell flooded their brains. Forests, deserts, oceans, the sky, cities, tundra, and plains all appeared before them in rapid succession. They were then abruptly in the front of the Mishima Zaibatsu. Everybody knew what the Mishima Zaibatsu were famous worldwide for: they were the leading developer in drugs for consumer use. The four all looked up at the building that reached the skies. The top of the building was shrouded in the darkness as rain began to fall on their faces. As quickly as it came, the vision of the Mishima Zaibatsu left, and for some reason, they were all relieved that it left.

After this dizzying cycle, they finally found themselves at the edge of another forest. This one had more greenery than the forest on the way to school. They were on the edge of a river, and there was a small hut behind them. Jin recognized this place as the place where he was raised. Where he was raised by his mother. Jun began speaking softly to the children, and kept her gaze on them. Suddenly, the four teens each felt something stir within them, as if raw power raged through each of their veins.

"Ling Xiaoyu, the Wind Walker,"

"Julia Chang, daughter of the Earth,"

"Hwoarang, knight of Fire"

"Jin Kazama, son of the Light"

"I know you must all be very scared. Be that as it may, use those emotions to fuel your strength. The fate of the world rests in your hands. The future depends on you, and you are all worthy of assuming this responsibility."

The four teens stared at each other in shock. They couldn't believe what they were hearing, what they were seeing, what they were touching. This was just too ethereal. This kind of stuff only happened in the fan-fiction that Ling read on the Internet.

Jun continued, "Saving the world. Daunting, isn't it? Please do not be afraid. You all have the potential to become the greatest warriors the Earth has ever seen. Your lives have taken their individual paths just to reach this point."

Hwoarang let out a deep breath. He was never a believer in destiny; Jun's words changed that immediately.

"Be aware that you are not alone in this fight. Others will join you, and I will do all in my power to guide you through this trial. Remember who you are fighting for, and remember that you are all must rely on each other to succeed in banishing the encroaching shadow from the world."

Suddenly, Jun turned around and started walking away. None of the four had realized that a pair of white wings were folded upon themselves and were attached to her back. The wings began to unfold and stretch, and began to vanish. Jun then suddenly began to become transparent, until she disappeared completely.

"WAIT!" Jin yelled after her. He started running towards his mother, desperate to find any remnant of her. Frantically, he started searching the area, until he finally slumped down to his knees.

Left in the forest where he grew up, Jin felt something falling down his cheek. He didn't notice that it was a tear until Ling came up to him and wiped it away with her thumb.

"Umm…yeah…" Hwoarang broke the silence among the four.

"Why us? I don't understand…I didn't even know you guys until today," muttered Julia.

"I'm scared…what are we going to do?" asked Ling. She was on the verge of tears herself. "Where do we go from here?" Before Ling finished asking the question, all four of them already knew the answer.

"We are all going to the Mishima Zaibatsu," Jin muttered. Ling, Julia, and Hwoarang turned towards him. He stood up and faced the other three. "We are all going to the Mishima Zaibatsu," Jin said in a louder voice. The sadness in his face that was there a second ago was replaced with hardened resolve. The resolve and strength that his mother gave him.

_Note: I know...it is kind of getting muddled and rushed. But I swear I have a direction to this story. )_


	4. Questions Left Unanswered

"Ms. Kazama…Ms. Kazama…"

Asuka woke up at the sound of her name. She groaned as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. For a moment, she didn't know where she was. Then the memories all came flooding back to her. The wrecked dojo. The trail of blood. Her father's body. The strange man that did this to him. Her sworn enemy. How could she forget what he had done to her and her family, even three months later?

She looked up and saw two nurses in white outfits. They were standing over her with friendly eyes. Asuka gave a faint smile back. Even thought it was a pathetic, fake smile, the nurses accepted it.

"We need to check on your father again. Do you mind?" The nurse motioned toward her father's hospital bed that she was leaning on; she had fallen asleep while watching him in the chair next to the bed. Asuka nodded and sat back in her chair. She looked at her father's face. The bandages covered the bruised and battered face that she saw in the dojo. _Bruises shouldn't take three months to heal. There's something wrong _she thought. She quickly turned away. She couldn't stand her father looking like this.

Asuka exited her father's room: partly to let the nurses do their job in peace, partly to get a grip on things. It has been approximately three months since the attack, and her father still had not woken up. After the stranger left, Asuka called the paramedics in and rushed to take care of her father while they waited. She didn't understand how he was lucid one moment, then suddenly unconscious the next as the paramedics transported him to the hospital. Asuka always thought that her father was the strongest man in the world. She had seen him in countless fights, all of which he won. He was an expert martial artist, able to defeat many who opposed him. Seeing him in a vulnerable state was just too much to handle…conceding her father's mortality was not an easy thing to do for her. _Don't be so hard on yourself, Asuka, conceding a father's mortality is hard for anyone._

She hated the smell of hospitals. She hated all of the white in the hospitals, and how clean they were. She hated all of the nurses on their lunch break who would laugh with each other while gossiping about their mutual friends. She hated the families who got to go home together as one of their own was discharged from the hospital. _I hate everything right now…why did this have to happen to us? To him? To me…_

A tear rolled down Asuka's cheek; she has cried more the past three months than she ever has in her sixteen years of life. And that includes the time when her mother left her father for another man. She wanted to beat that man's face into a bloody pulp…but not before the man who did this to her father. _I can't keep doing this…I can't keep doing this_ she repeated to herself. _I'm only killing myself by thinking about these things._

Asuka looked around the hospital absently, pretending to be interested in the things that she saw: the shiny white tiles on the ground, the off-white wallpaper, the poster on the wall instructing people how to perform the Heimlich maneuver in case anybody had something lodged in their throat. She sighed again, and realized that it was getting late. _I have school tomorrow…I guess I should go since I missed Friday_. It wasn't that she "missed" Friday, per se, but who wouldn't want to spend the day with their hospitalized father?

Asuka entered her father's room again and told the nurses that she was heading off for the day. They nodded and bid her farewell. Asuka leaned in and gave her father a kiss on the cheek. She walked out and made her way back to the entrance of the hospital.

As she walked outside of the hospital, she shivered from the cold. The sun had almost finished setting, and the street lights began to turn on as she fumbled for her bike lock key in her book bag. She unlocked her bike and started pedaling back to the dojo. Random thoughts entered and exited her mind. She didn't really pay attention to anything…it was as if all reality was slipping away as she rode her bike through the congested streets. It seemed like it was rush hour; all of the commuters were coming back home.

Finally, she reached the dojo and locked her bike outside. She opened the door and cautiously peered in. This had been a habit of hers ever since…that day. In spite of everything, she was quite impressed by the way that she cleaned up the dojo all by herself. _With the help of some construction workers to fix the walls._ She let out a small, rare chuckle. Nobody would have guessed the amount of damage that intruder did by the look of things. Everything was repaired and it looked as good as new.

After making herself some dinner, she plopped down on her bed and started reading her Calculus book while eating. _So the Taylor series representation of this function would be…the limit of the sum of, starting at n and going to infinity, 9 multiplied by the quantity x minus 1 cubed all over 4._ She checked her answer in the back of the book. _Completely wrong…go figure._ She carelessly wrote the correct answer on her homework page and before going to the next problem, she decided to give up entirely. _There are more important things in this world than calculus._ She tossed the book on the floor and put her dishes in the sink. She then came back to her room and jumped on her bed, exhaling loudly, and tried to go to sleep.

_Tomorrow will be better, it has to be_ said a voice in her head.

_Asuka…you've been saying that for the past three months_ said an opposing voice.

_Yeah, well, tomorrow I mean it._

_You always say that too!_

_What…you don't want Dad to get better?_

_Of course I do…it's just that we can't get our hopes up._

_He will get better!_

_I know that…you know that…I bet even dad knows it…it just might take more time than we anticipated._

Asuka sighed. _It just might take more time._ She didn't want it to take any more time. She wanted her father back. As she was thinking to herself, anguished tears started streaming down her face.

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"Asuka, I'm worried about you," Misao looked at her with a furrowed brow. Asuka and Misao had been best friends since…forever it seems. They were inseparable since they met each other at age 4.

"I'm fine, really Sao, I am," Asuka replied. She took her eyes off of her lunch to face her friend. Misao's concern for Asuka was definitely reflected in her face, and Asuka quickly looked down at her sandwich.

"You don't look fine…"

"Well, if you don't believe me, I don't know what to tell you" Asuka replied with a hint of anger in her voice.

Misao understood what she was trying to say and stopped her interrogation…for the time being. "So when we visited your father yesterday, he looked better than ever!" she said enthusiastically, in an attempt to lift her friend's spirits.

"Yeah…hey…I'll see you later, O.K.?" Asuka started balling up her lunch and threw it into the nearest trash can. She only listened to Misao half-heartedly. All of her attention was on her father.

"Oh…umm…sure…ok…do you need me to come over tonight? You shouldn't be home alone every night…" Misao asked pathetically as Asuka got up from the table they were sitting.

"Sure, if you want to. I'll be back from the hospital around 6:00" Asuka said off-handedly. It wasn't that Asuka didn't appreciate Misao's attempts to reach out to her; in actuality, Asuka thought that their friendship was strengthening because of this ordeal.

"I'll see you later," said Asuka, as she turned to walk toward the hospital. She waved to Misao, who returned the wave. There was still a twinge of worry in Misao's eyes. Asuka tried her best to alleviate her concern by flashing a smile. It worked; Misao smiled back and turned back to her lunch.

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Back at the hospital, Asuka sat in her familiar chair that was next to her father's bed. Asuka began rocking back and forth, trying to occupy herself. She glanced over at the computer monitor next to the hospital bed. A whole bunch of graphs, numbers, and symbols littered the screen. _I wonder what I'll make Dad for dinner when he finally gets out of this hellhole._

"Excuse me, would you happen to be Asuka Kazama?" a strange accented voice asked from the door.

Asuka looked up. A blond man was standing at the entrance. His long hair was slicked back with what must have taken a lot of hair products. He wore a blue long-sleeved shirt tucked over a pair of red jeans. Asuka recognized a coat of arms on the right sleeve of his shirt. He wore some very expensive-looking tennis shoes. _Hmm…maybe Dad would like those shoes when he got better…_ The man had in his right hand a folder and a notepad. Overall, he was very exotic looking. He was obviously not from Japan.

"Umm…what?" Asuka stammered.

"Are you Asuka Kazama?" said the blond stranger. Asuka noticed that he had an accent.

"Yes…why?"

"May I ask you a couple of questions?"

"Depends…about what?"

"About…" his voice trailed off as he looked over to the body of her father in the hospital bed.

"I thought we were done with all of this police paperwork…"

"I'm not with the police…I just need to ask you a couple of things about the things you saw that day."

Asuka began to get defensive. _If he's not with the cops, what does he want?_

"Umm…I guess…" _Choose your words carefully, Asuka._

"May I sit?" asked the stranger.

"Nobody's stopping you…" _Wrong choice of words…_

The stranger smiled at her sharp tongue as he pulled up a chair and placed it opposite from her.

"Well…first off, my name is Steve Fox. I have…umm...a special interest on the attack of your father. You saw who attacked him, right?"

After a pause, "Yes, I did." Asuka stirred in her seat, remembering the day.

"Would you mind describing him to me?" Steve took out his notebook and a pen, ready to receive whatever Asuka was about to say.

"Well…umm…he wore his long black hair in a braid, that reached past his shoulder. He was Asian, he was kind of tall, probably a little shorter than you."

Steve began to ruffle through the papers in his folder. _Wait…he asked me this question, and now he's not even paying attention. _Asuka paused, trying to look over at what was in the folder. Steve twirled his finger, signaling her to go on.

"He wore some red, gold, and green pants…oh, and he had an earpiece that talked to him."

Steve stopped looking at the contents of the folder and immediately looked up as Asuka was finishing her sentence. "Did you hear what it said?" he asked incredulously.

"Umm…kind of, I could make out what it said," mumbled Asuka.

"What did it say?" Steve started to stand up, either in excitement or fear, Asuka couldn't tell.

"It said something about leaving the area…" Asuka's memory was hazy. While she had a good eye for her surroundings, her listening skills was something she needed to work on. "Umm…oh, and I think it said something about a sample."

Steve's eyes widended.

"Bring back the sample, or something like that," Asuka finished.

Steve sat back down. All of the excitement (or fear, Asuka still wasn't able to tell) had left his face, leaving a facial expression that Asuka couldn't link to an emotion. He suddenly took a paper from the middle of the folder. "Is this him?" Steve asked. He handed Asuka the paper.

She took it in her hands. On the paper were four pictures. They were of a man from the back, front, and the sides. The first place her eyes went to were his eyes. Those piercing, battle-worn eyes whose intensity was unmatched. In the first photograph, he was giving the camera his signature smirk. The smirk that haunted her dreams for the past three months.

Asuka threw the paper to the ground. "What do you know about him!" she screamed angrily.

"Say no more. My suspicions were correct. Thanks for your time," a calm Steve replied. He picked up the picture that was at his feet and stood up from the chair.

"Wait…who is that bastard!" she yelled. Hospital staff started looking through the large glass window that provided a view into the hallway. "Tell me now!"

Steve closed his eyes and shook his head. "I apologize, but it's classified." He started for the door.

"Wait!" she yelled after him. Steve didn't turn back. He walked down the hallway, with a sixteen year-old school girl matching every one of his steps.

"Do you know who he is? Do you know where he is? Why did he do this to my father?"

Steve coolly ignored her and continued to walk through the hospital. Asuka's agitation with the stranger grew.

"Stop! Stop! I SAID STOP!" Asuka quickly ran past him and gave him one hard kick in the stomach. Truly shocked, Steve doubled over as the wind left him. Asuka spun around and hit his shocked face with the back of her right fist. Steve reeled back and tried to gain his bearings once again. Expecting another blow, he backed away and went into his fighting stance: boxing. Initally, Steve was confused when Asuka didn't rush up and try to attack again, but he noticed what the young girl was doing before it was too late.

Asuka reached for the folder that Steve had dropped when suddenly, a hand grabbed her wrist and ruined her getaway. She turned and looked straight in the face of the blond man named Steve. "Now we won't be having none of that, will we?" he said mockingly. She tried to reach the folder with her other hand, but Steve pulled her a safe distance away from the documents.

"Why won't you help me! What is his name! What do you know!" screamed Asuka through clenched teeth. She started struggling against Steve's grip. _He's too strong…_

As the Asuka continued to break free from his grip and shouting incoherently, he saw something glisten in the corner of her eye. He automatically loosened his grip as she faced him.

Wiping the tear away, Asuka was about to shout at him once more, but Steve interrupted.

"You've got some spark in you, kid. I like that. And that kick wasn't a kick from some untrained wannabe…I felt form in it." Steve coughed a little.

_Heh…he still hasn't fully recovered from it_ thought Asuka.

"Hmm…you might be useful…if you want to know everything in that folder, come with me." Steve gracefully took the folder from the ground. Without a moment's hesitation, Asuka followed in his footsteps and made a path through the hospital workers who had gone to see the commotion they caused.


	5. Uncivil War

"We're going to the Mishima Zaibatsu," repeated Jin, his voice hard and absolute.

Suddenly, Julia and Ling found the ground very interesting. They refused to make eye contact with Jin. Hwoarang, on the other hand, rolled his eyes at him. After a minute of silence between them, Hwoarang decided that it was his turn to speak.

"You're not serious, are you? You expect four high school students to travel across Japan to go to the headquarters of a multi-billion dollar corporation?" Hwoarang's voice started to escalate. "Fine…let's say ya do. What do you think is going to happen when you go through the front door? What are you gonna do next, tough guy? Are you going to ask the receptionist if your ghost mommy left you a message? In case you didn't notice, she wasn't very specific about the whole thing. About anything, for Christ's sake."

Jin glared at Hwoarang. "Are you suggesting that we don't do anything about the Zaibatsu? That we forget everything that we saw and heard? Forget the hour as if it never existed? Well, sorry, but I can't."

Hwoarang continued, "Well, I think I can. I'm just going to walk out of this forest, go to school, and life will be as normal as today should have been. Whatever "shadow" she was talking about, the military has a better chance of handling than four kids."

Jin opened his mouth to reply, but Ling quickly interjected to change the subject. "Umm...I think this is where Jin grew up. That house over there looks like the one that you've shown me in the photo albums at your place." Jin nodded quickly in reply.

"Yeah…so? What's your point? Do we need to get Jin his pacifier?" Hwoarang replied irritability.

"Well," Ling said, as equally irritated, "if I know the geography of Japan, then that means that school is about 200 miles that way." Ling pointed south, in the direction of some mountain range."

"Tch" was Hwoarang's only reply as he kicked the dirt.

Julia broke her silence. "I, for one, will see this thing through to the end. I think that we have witnessed something miraculous. I do believe that Jin's mother contacted us somehow, and she wants us to do something involving the Mishima Zaibatsu. Didn't you all feel the overwhelming terror that seeped into your bones when we were in front of it?" Ling folded her arms and shivered, as she remembered the vision. Hwoarang simply looked away despondently. "I hope that the spirits of my ancestors will visit me some day. I attribute all of my strength to them," she added silently. She walked over next to Jin. Julia noticed out of the corner of her eye that Jin's expression had softened as she walked past him.

"Unbelievable…this is just unbelievable," Hwoarang muttered. "Seriously, think about it, guys. We're just kids from rural Japan. We don't know anything about…anything outside of our homes."

"Actually, I'm from the Sta-" Julia began.

"I can't believe that I am going to say this, but Hwoarang might be right," interrupted Ling. As she finished this last comment, Jin's face cycled through several emotions as he looked at his closest friend. First, Ling noticed shock, then anger, and now Jin's mouth was twisted in a way which she knew that meant that he was disgusted with her.

"I mean…yes, I agree, I saw Jin's mother. We all saw Jin's mother. I don't think anybody denies that." She looked around at their faces. Nobody was willing to say that they weren't visited by Jun Kazama. "And yes, I think she was trying to tell us that the Mishima Zaibatsu is bad. I'm guessing we have to figure out what they have been doing that was so horrible. But with a multi-billion dollar industry with secrets comes a multi-billion dollar maximum security force that wants to keep those secrets hidden from the public, if they have anything to say about it. That is their entire purpose in life. If we try to do something, _anything,_ we can get hurt. Or worse." Ling quickly shifted her eyes to the other three, cycling through each of their faces trying to pin whether or not her words had any effect.

"Exactly!" exclaimed Hwoarang, "that is what I have been trying to say! Even if it is my _destiny_," Hwoarang tried to imitate the voice of Jun, "I don't think I'm willing to die for anything, especially not some dead girl who thinks that she can just command four kids around, one of them being her _own son_ no less, to go on a suicide mission. She can go ahead and screw herself in hell for all I care."

Jin walked up to Hwoarang with clenched fists. He grabbed Hwoarang's school uniform shirt and pulled him close. Their faces were literally centimeters apart. "You take that back, asshole" he said through clenched teeth.

"Get your damn filthy hands off me, pretty boy," Hwoarang said coolly as he pushed Jin away from him. As Jin was pushed back, he took one large step toward Hwoarang and punched him square in the jaw.

As Hwoarang reeled back from the punch, stunned, Jin ran up to his staggering body and tackled him to the earth. Hwoarang felt his legs give out from under him, and he suddenly found himself on the ground with a loud _thump_. As quickly as the initial punch was thrown, Jin was on top of him, throwing punches successively with both of his clenched fists. Hwoarang tried to block and counterattack, but his attempts were futile against the furious Jin. He took Jin's punches with full force. Hwoarang looked into Jin's eyes and saw ferocity in its purest form. "Take…it…back…asshole!" Jin said after every strike. Jin grabbed a nearby rock and wound his arm back to bash Hwoarang's skull in. Jin hesitated one moment and looked into Hwoarang's scared eyes. _Pure, unadulterated fear…good. I want him to die with fear on his pathetic face; with that stupid look on his damn face _a dark voice within Jin said.

"Jin! Stop!" Ling shouted. Jin hadn't realized that Ling and Julia had rushed up before Jin could deliver the fatal blow. Ling knocked the rock out of his hand with one swift kick to the wrist. Jin howled in pain as the rock flew several yards behind the fight. Regardless of the pain that he felt in his wrist, he punched Hwoarang one more time with his left fist. Julia pulled the feral Jin off of the immobilized Hwoarang, and Ling quickly joined her in her efforts. As the girls held Jin back, he struggled with all of his strength against them. He wanted to finish the job, but the girls were definitely stronger than they looked, and they held their ground. _Let me go, you bitches! I want to kill that shit-talker! _said the unknown voice within Jin.

"Jin, calm down," Julia repeatedly whispered directly into his ear. "Please, empty your mind. You've made your point. Calm down," Julia continued. Jin's breathing slowed, and he stopped struggling. She felt his muscles under his school shirt slowly relax. The tension began to ease; the anger began to subside. Jin suddenly cast his eyes down on the ground, ashamed at the realization of what he had just done._ What's wrong with me? I've never actually wanted to kill somebody before_. _I let emotion control of me. 'Never let emotions cloud your vision' Jin remembered his mother saying._

Hwoarang slowly sat up. He began checking his face with his hands, instantly regretting it as he touched areas with too much pressure. He winced as intense pain instantly shot throughout his face. There were blotches of blood scattered on his school shirt and on the ground where he lay. Along with the blood stains on his clothes, there were dirt stains all over his body. A portion of his left sleeve was somehow torn off, and his left eye was almost swollen shut. Areas of his face were quickly turning purple, and there were open cuts littered throughout his face pouring out blood. More crimson blood trailed down his face from his nose and mouth. He looked like a mess. As soon as Jin saw his victim, he quickly turned away. Jin couldn't look at him. He couldn't see what his own hands had done in a moment of weakness.

_Look what you have done!_ Jin thought

_I kind of liked it, though… _the dark voice rang through his brain again.

_Don't you get it? He didn't deserve it._

_Are you kidding? You know he had it coming._

_Even if he did, it definitely didn't need to go that far._

_Heh…at least he knows his place now, that stupid asshole._

"You're fuckin' crazy, Kazama!" he shouted angrily. As Hwoarang yelled, more blood welled up in his mouth, and he turned his head and spit the globule of crimson red liquid out on the ground. "I'm gonna fuckin' kill you!" he screamed. More blood oozed from his mouth and fell from his chin onto his shirt.

"Come on Jin, let's get your wrist checked out," Ling said. "Do you remember the way to the closest city?" Jin nodded his head absent-mindedly. "All right, lead the way."

Jin silently turned around and walked away from Hwoarang, nursing the wrist that Ling injured. _Even though this wrist hurts like hell, I can't thank Ling enough for stopping me._

"Dammit, Kazama! You're fuckin' crazy, ya hear me?" Hwoarang continued his verbal assault.

Julia turned around and hushed him, "If you want to get your injuries checked out as well, you better come with us. You'll get lost in this forest."

Hwoarang yelled back at her, "Are you nuts! I'm not gonna hang around him one second longer than it takes to crack his skull. Why the hell are you following that lunatic?"

Ling and Julia encouraged Jin to ignore him as the three walked away. The shouts from the angry Hwoarang continued

"You're fuckin' crazy, man! You're crazy!"

Soon, Hwoarang's shouts died down as they got deep enough into the forest. The three of them were silent as they walked through nature. Usually, all three would admire the way that the sun shone on the forest floor; how the trees grew so tall; how the plants were like nothing they had ever seen before. But this time, they paid no attention to the natural beauty in front of them. All three had solemn looks on their faces.

Jin's mind was racing. His movements through the familiar forest were automatic and robotic. His brain was on overload; it was going a mile a minute.

_What was that voice in my head? How come I couldn't control my body when I was attacking Hwoarang? What if Ling and Julia weren't there? What if they hadn't intervened? What would I have done? Would I actually have killed him? Murder him? _Jin paused and shuddered at the thought.

_Is Hwoarang right? Am I going crazy?_


	6. Bulletproof Plan

"Hmmm...I see…well…OK…hmmm…"

The doctor scanned Jin's right wrist up and down. Jin observed the man push the frame of his glasses further up his nose. He noticed that the man's white lab coat matched the graying black hair on his head. The shiny metal stethoscope hung around the doctor's neck was crooked. Jin looked down at the doctor's hands. He observed a silver nondescript band on his left ring finger. _He's an ordinary doctor with an ordinary life. Up to this day, I thought I had an ordinary life…_ Jin thought.

"All right, Jin, a minor sprain has caused the small amount of swelling in your wrist. I'm going to wrap it up in some bandages, and as soon as you get home, put it under a bag of ice; 5 minutes on, 5 minutes off. It should go away from a couple of days to a week," the doctor explained as he laid Jin's arm on the examination table. A small, remorseful smile crept up upon the corners of Jin's mouth. _Home? Which home? The one an entire day's trip away? Or the one in the forest outside of the city? _Jin's mind went blank. _On second thought, my childhood home will always be my home…_ The doctor reached into a drawer in the examination table and emerged with a long, white bandage.

"Your injury isn't too bad, just don't strenuously use your wrist," he said, trying to make conversation with the silent Jin, as he wrapped the bandage around Jin's wrist. The doctor pushed his glasses up his face again. _That's a little annoying_ Jin thought. "All right, I'll see you out. We're done here, if there isn't anything else," said the doctor as he stood up from his chair. He motioned Jin to the door which lead to the hallway.

The doctor opened the door for Jin, and he immediately saw Julia and Ling in the waiting room. Ling had fallen asleep in her chair, and Julia held one of the many magazines available to the guests in her hand. Brown mud was caked on their shiny, otherwise nice school shoes. Looking down, he noticed that parts of his dark school trousers and shoes were stained with brown smears of mud as well from the scuffle with Hwoarang. _Where the hell is he?_

While Jin was waiting for the doctor to examine him, he flashed back to the fight. What was wrong with him? He knew Hwoarang was defeated, but his body just kept going and going. _It's nothing,_ he resolved, _I just let him get to me. It won't ever happen again_. _Stupid Hwoarang._ However, Jin felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Somehow, he knew that he wouldn't be able to keep this promise he made to himself. Without giving the matter further thought, he pushed it into the back of his mind, thinking it was something he could control if it ever came up again.

Julia noticed Jin walk toward them, and she stood up, brushing some imaginary stray fiber from her skirt. "Looks like your fine," she smirked, pointing to the covered wrist.

"Yeah, the doctor said that everything would be back to normal in about a week," Jin explained. _Really? Everything would be normal? Hardly…_

"That's good, Ling was a little worried…" Julia turned around and outstretched her arm to wake her, but Jin's voice stopped her.

"Wait, I need to tell you something," Jin said quickly.

Julia snapped her arm back and faced Jin again. "Yeah?" she asked innocently.

"I want to thank you, Julia" Jin could feel the hot blood rushing to his face.

"For what?"

"For…you know, backing me up. It meant a lot to me…" he continued feebly.

"I didn't do it for you, Jin…I truly believe that we have to accomplish whatever tasks that were laid out in front of us. I'm not scared." Her tone was resolute and without a hint of sarcasm; there was no debating with her on the issue.

"Well, in any case, thanks," For several moments, they looked at each other, saying nothing.

It was Jin who broke the awkward silence by waking Ling. "Hey Ling. We can leave now," he gently said while tapping her. Ling's dark brown eyes emerged slowly from under her eyelids, and she smiled at the sight of Jin.

"So how badly did I kick your ass?" she asked playfully. Julia covered her mouth and chuckled.

Jin lightly punched her shoulder in jest with his uninjured hand. "Well, Xiao," started Jin, trying to keep a straight face, "Doctor said you shattered my wrist. It'll take a couple of months to heal, and even then, my wrist will be more susceptible to breaking. Also, there was some foul fungus on your foot that went through your sock and your shoe and infected me. Now I have three days to live. Other than that, I'm fine."

All three of them laughed. Ling rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and stood up. After some chatter, they finally decided that they had spent enough time in this foreign hospital; the amount of white covering the floors, walls, and ceiling was unsettling for the three of them.

"Umm…so what do we do now?" asked Ling as she scratched the top of her head. They had just emerged from the hospital and took in the morning sun. She looked up to Jin. In response, he rubbed his chin in deep thought. _Hmmm…what now?_

Julia piped in, "How much money do all of you have on you right now?"

Jin and Ling looked at her in confusion. "That's a pretty bold question to ask," Ling said with a hint of annoyance.

"If we are going to the Zaibatsu, we'll need some supplies, right?" explained Julia, "the more we have, the better prepared we'll be." She rolled down her sock and took out some money from her shoe. "I know it's a little juvenile, but I always lose wallets whenever I get them…" Julia blushed. "I have about 1000 yen."

"Well…my bag is back in the forest, so I don't have anything on me right now," Ling said embarrassingly. _Crap…I lost all my paintball stuff too…I had to work for three months with Grandpa at the fishery for that equipment_ Ling sobbed.

Jin took out his wallet and fingered through the various pieces of paper. "I have a little more than five million yen in my bank account," Jin replied.

Ling and Julia gaped at him in shock. "Erm…Jin…if you don't mind…of the years I've known you, you never have had a job," Ling stammered.

Jin's face flushed with embarrassment. _What was I thinking…I shouldn't have just flashed my money in front of them._ "Umm…well...since my mother died," Jin gulped at the mention of her mother, "my grandfather has been giving me an allowance to support myself. I've never met him, but he has some high-end job at—" Finally, his mind made the connection. Suddenly, his mind raced a mile a minute. _I can't believe this! This is too good to be true! I've already got a connection to…_

"My grandfather works at the Zaibatsu! We've already got an in! Damn…I can't believe I didn't think of this before, but we have a way to get into the Zaibatsu! All I have to do is just give him a call, and hopefully he'll help us." Jin rapidly said.

"Wait…what!" shrieked an excited Julia. "This is awesome! This made our goal about five times easier than I originally thought it would be!"

"Let's think about this, though," Ling interrupted the combined excitement of her friends, "isn't it going to be a little weird when you appear out of nowhere and ask him to tell you about the Zaibatsu's dirty secrets? Even though he is your blood relative, I'm not sure he would comply…" Ling's statement brought the mood of the crowd down a couple of notches. Jin nodded in acknowledgement.

Ling flashed a devious smile, "We need to think of a plan…" Jin and Julia looked at her with eagerness…

**30 minutes later…**

The phone on the other side of the line started ringing. Jin was a little nervous; butterflies were definitely roaming free in his stomach. He looked out of the glass box and saw Julia and Ling urging him on in confidence. _This is going to work…I know it is. Ling is a great strategist…I think. _Doubt entered Jin's mind, but he didn't have enough time to respond as somebody picked up the phone.

_Here it goes…_

"Hello? Who is this? I don't recognize your number on my caller I.D. Who are you? How did you get my private line?" interrogated an authoritative, aged voice on the other end.

"Erm…hi…umm…is this Heihachi Mishima?" Jin began feebly.

"Of course it is! You've reached my personal line! What do you want? Who is this?" continued the man. His voice was authoritative and deep. Jin was losing confidence in this plan.

"Umm…hello sir. I'm Jin Kazama, your grandson? Do you remember m—" started Jin

"Jin? Jin, is this really you?" Heihachi's voice conveyed true surprise. The tone of surprise quickly turned into joy as the old man began a flurry of questions, "Hello there, son! What have you been up to? Why are you calling? Is everything all right? Do you need more money? Is something the matter? I told you to only use my personal line in emergences…wow…I haven't seen you in so long! How are you? What are you doing? Is everything all right?"

Jin became a little overwhelmed, and his face reached a light red. "Oh no…everything is fine…_grandpa…" _Jin felt a little awkward using that word…he probably only talked to the man four times in his entire life, "well…I was wondering if you could do me a favor…it isn't anything major or anything…"

"A favor? Is my only grandson asking me for a favor? Do you even need to ask, my son? Of course I'll do it! I don't even know what it is!" A hearty, loud laugh blasted into Jin's ear. He had to hold the phone receiver several inches away because of the volume.

"Heh…thanks…ummm…I was wondering if a couple of friends and I could tour the Zaibatsu? My friends and I were assigned a project where we have to study a major corporation and write about it's rise to success. Well…I think we'd like to write about your company…" Jin's voice trailed off.

"A report on the Zaibatsu? Why of course! I'll buy you and your friends tickets on the next flight over here. When is the tour convenient for you?" asked an excited Heihachi.

"Well…actually…_grandpa_…" _There's that word again…_ "we're already here. So I guess the question is when it is convenient for us to visit you?"

Heihachi let out another ear-splitting bellow, "You have initiative, my boy, I like that. You have good business sense. You'll do good when you inherit this multi-billion dollar corporation!" laughed Heihachi. "How about Saturday, around 2:00 pm? I'll use my lunch break to show you kids around."

"Oh wow…so soon? Yeah…Saturday would be great." _I can't believe this is actually working_, Jin thought, _I'll never doubt Ling or any of her plans ever again_. "We're staying at a hotel outside of the hospital, so we'll just stay there until then."

"Oh no no no no no, my boy!" interrupted Heihachi. "You'll stay at the Mishima Hotel! It's very classy, six stars, I hear! I know that hotels are rated on a five star scale, but the raters loved it so much that they invented the sixth star specially for my hotel!" laughed the old man.

"I don't know…you've done too much already…" Jin's voice started wavering as he felt embarrassed by his grandfather's overt display of affection.

"Now, we'll have none of that now. The hotel is about 20 blocks south from the hospital. You can't miss it, it's the largest building around, other than the Zaibatsu headquarters itself. Tell the front-desk clerk who you are, and she'll bring you to the penthouse suite. I'll arrange everything right now, so I have to hang up. I can't wait until Saturday, it truly has been too long, grandson!" Heihachi's excited voice was abruptly replaced with the dial tone.

A shocked Jin slowly hung the phone on the receiver and stepped out of the glass booth. "Soooo?" inquired the curious girls.

"Well…we got it. Saturday, at 2:00. That gives us a couple of days to prepare. And it turns out he's letting us stay at the Mishima Hotel. In the penthouse."

Ling and Julia lept up in joy. "See see see! I told you it would work. I may not know my chemistry…or my biology…or my history…or my calculus, for that matter, but I definitely know how to manipulate those I want to!" shrieked Ling. An equally excited Julia added, "I can't believe it…this is so awesome! This is going to work out perfectly. Now all we have to do is do some detective work while we're there, and we'll go from there!"

Jin grinned. "Well, what are we waiting for? I know of a penthouse suite at a six star hotel that has our name on it!" He started walking south as his two friends followed excitingly. "Wow! Six stars! I didn't even know there was such a thing!" Ling said in amazement…

**At the same time...**

Heihachi Mishima hung up the phone. An evil smile crept up on his face. He scratched his balding head, and pressed the intercom button on his intricate and expensive-looking business phone on his desk. "Tomoko, call Lee and send him in."

"Yes sir," a flirty young voice replied.

Five minutes later, a tall, lean man in a business suit entered. His most striking feature was his silver hair that was mopped on the crown of his head. His youthful face betrayed his true age, but what does age matter in this world that we live in?

"You called, father?" asked the man.

"Lee, my son. The time has come," Heihachi said nonchalantly.

Lee, however, was more excited than his father, "Is it truly time? Don't play jokes with me, father, we've been working on this project for quite some time. It would be cruel to dangle this in front of my and then snatch it away," replied the apprehensive Lee.

"Dear son, I don't joke. _Especially_ not about this matter, about our master plan." Heihachi replied coolly. "Send the Force to the penthouse of the Mishima Hotel, and…erm…_persuade_ your nephew to come visit me, won't you?"

A smile crept upon Lee's face. "Oh father, I am a slave to your genius. Whatever you wish, you shall receive." Both father and son began to laugh manically in Heihachi's private office.

**An hour later…**

"Wow…that might have been the best ramen ever," gushed Ling, "the barbeque pork was just the way I liked it!" She set aside her bowl and placed in neatly on the room service cart. She looked around the room in amazement once again. Everything seemed so shiny. Ling was afraid to touch anything, in fear of ruining its value. _I can't believe how lucky Jin is. He's pretty much set for life, judging by his grandpa's successes_, Ling thought. Still, not everything had sunk into Ling's mind, but it was beginning to. _Come Saturday, our true purpose in life will be revealed._

"Hey guys..." Jin interrupted Ling's thought process, "do you really want to go through with this? Maybe the Zaibatsu isn't that bad…" Jin began.

Julia and Ling stared at him, "Ummm…why are you thinking these things, Jin? Your mother sent out a clear message…" Julia asked.

"Well…Heiha—my grandfather—" Jin tried to get accustomed with the word, "doesn't seem like such a bad guy. Look what he has done for us," Jin motioned around the grandiose penthouse they were given for the next two days."

"Of course he's going to spoil you, you're his grandson," began Julia, "but remember what your mother showed us. The Zaibatsu may not be what your grandfather cracks it up to be. Just be wary."

"I guess you're right…I just kind of feel guilty deceiving my grandfather after all of this…" replied Jin as his voice trailed off.

A sudden knock on the door interrupted their conversation. "Hmm…did any of you order any more food?" asked Jin. Both girls shook their head. Jin sat up and walked towards the door.

He looked through the peephole, and saw several hotel staff with three more carts of food. Curious, Jin opened the door slightly and took in their visitors.

"Compliments of Mr. Heihachi Mishima," one of the staff mechanically said, as he stood outside of the doorway. A card reading "Jin, enjoy your meal!" was on the cart in the front.

Jin eyed all of the carts of food. "Oh no…we possibly couldn't. We already had our meal," Jin said as he motioned towards the three carts of empty dishes already inside.

"But sir, Mr. Mishima wills it—" began the man just as Jin motioned for the card addressed to him. As Jin reached for the card, he accidentally knocked it off the card and it fell to the floor. "Oops," Jin said feebly, "I know I'm so clumsy sometimes…"

"Allow me, sir," said the man, and as he bent down to pick up the card, Jin noticed something peculiar inside the man's formal suit jacket along his shoulder. Jin squinted to see what it was. It looked like a belt strap.

As the man emerged with the card in hand, offering it to Jin, he noticed Jin's odd expression. "Is something wrong, sir?" the man asked.

"Hey…what do you have in your jacket?" asked Jin. "It looks like a—" Jin began, but he was interrupted as an unexpected right-hand hook connected squarely in his jaw. Jin reeled back, and was promply struck in the stomach with a quick kick from another of the hotel staff.

Jin pedaled back several steps before falling to the ground, clutching his stomach in pain and shock. "JIN!" Ling yelled, as she and Julia rushed up on either side of him, eying both Jin and the hotel staff with intense eyes.

The man who Jin was talking to, the leader of the group, pulled out a gun from his leather holster with his right hand. "It looks like we've been discovered, boys," he smiled.

The other men with him lifted the shiny silver platter covers to reveal various weapons. Each of the supposed hotel staff now wielded a weapon in their hand. They all made their way into the room with the carts and closed the door behind them, locking all of the locks in place.

"We could have done it with no violence whatsoever, but it turns out that we were too careless. Oh well…whatever gets the job done I suppose." said the man. A creepy smile emerged on his face. He pointed the gun directly at Jin's chest.

**Note:** _I know this chapter was a long time coming, but school has really been keeping me busy. Readers, please tell me what I have been doing right and what I have been doing wrong. I think I really need help in my writing. And I finally have gotten to the "Action" part of the genre description…I plan to have an extensive fight scene in the next chapter! Hopefully you guys have enjoyed so far. I look forward to any input/improvement/advice you guys can offer._


	7. Sunrise, Sunset

**Note:** _Hi everybody. This chapter was…umm…interesting to write, to say the least. If my fight scenes seem a little awkward, it might be because they are…haha. For one, I don't have any Tekken game with me, so I had to recall certain characters' unique moves from memory. Also, I took the liberty of making up some moves for the characters. Hopefully I don't deviate too far from the characters you know and love. I hope you like this chapter, and please leave me a comment about improving my fight scenes. I would greatly appreciate it. I plan many more fight scenes in the future of this fanfiction, and I'll be receptive to whatever you think will make them better._

_Oh yeah, and I've been getting used to the whole site, and I figured out how to reply to comments left on my fanfiction. So I just sent some messages of thanks to those who reviewed. I'll try to reply in a timely manner. Thanks guys._

_On to the story…_

"What the hell do you guys want?" snarled Ling.

Jin covered his mouth as he coughed, "If you're just preying on some rich kid, I have the money. Just leave us alone."

The leader of the gang chuckled. "Money? Thanks, but no thanks, kid. We get paid well for what we do. And oh…how I love what we do." One of the henchmen behind him laughed with their leader as he fingered the knife in his hand.

"And what are you going to do exactly with us? How are we important to you?" asked Julia in a hard voice.

"Sweetie, I don't give a damn who you are. But my employer does. And speaking of my employer, we need to take you to him. Those paychecks don't sign themselves, now." The leader waved his gun in Jin's direction, motioning him to stand.

"Come on, punk, I don't have all day," he said mockingly. Jin began to rise to his feet, refusing the help from Julia and Ling.

_Dammit…this looks bad_. Julia looked away as she tried to asses the situation. She swung a glance over to Ling, and their eyes met. Her expression was strange. There was definitely fear in Ling's eyes, but it seemed like another emotion, a stronger emotion, was behind that blanket of fear. Her facial expression was also peculiar. Her eyebrows were furrowed and the corner of her mouth was turned upwards. She looked intense in deep thought.

_Ling's thinking of something. All we need is a distraction, and we might be able to get away. Come on Ling, tell me what you're thinking_.

Jin's resolute voice interrupted Julia's train of thought. "If I go with you, what will happen to my friends? Will you leave them here?" he asked; there was a sense of urgency and worry in his voice.

"Yeah…I guess so. But damn…what I wouldn't do to have them come with us…" The leader disgustingly eyed Ling and Julia as some of the henchmen made sounds of approval and laughter. Ling looked away, feeling her skin crawl as the man's eyes searched up and down her body.

"Come on, little girls. Turn around for daddy and let your big papa tie you up. We don't want you to call the big bad cops on us now." Extending his hand outward, the closest henchman to his left pulled a roll of sturdy, long rope from under one of the carts and placed it in the leader's hands as he returned his gun to the shoulder holster under his jacket. As the man advanced towards Ling and Julia, his creepy smile sent chills down the girls' spine.

Jin noticed the weird look on the man's face and attempted to draw his attention away his friends. "Wait," he intervened as he blocked the leader's path with his left arm, "what do you want with me? Who is your employer?"

The leader quickly and instinctively took the obtrusive arm and twisted it behind him. "No more stupid questions, O.K?" he whispered in his ear. Jin gritted his teeth in pain as his shoulder screamed for relief from being twisted into an unnatural position.

"Jin…it's okay. He can tie us up. Just take care of yourself," Ling interrupted. The leader glanced behind his back, looking straight at Ling. "That's what I wanna hear, sugar," he smiled. He placed his foot in the small of Jin's back and kicked him forward, sending Jin to the floor on all fours, his injured wrist shot a pain throughout his right arm as his hand made impact with the ground. Jin's left shoulder also throbbed with pain from the leader's submission hold. Despite his condition, he looked back at Ling with fear in his eyes. _What are you doing, Ling? He might kill you!_ his mind screamed into the silent room. However, Ling's gaze back at him didn't convey the fear in his head. Jin looked at her in confusion.

The leader went over and told the girls to sit back to back. Julia hesitated to follow the man's order, but Ling reasoned with her, "Julia, it's O.K., there's nothing we could do." As Julia looked at her friend in disbelief, she saw a flash in Ling's eyes. Suddenly, Julia understood. _Ling's got something in that little brain of hers. All she has to do is say the word…_

As the leader was tying them up, Jin looked on helpless. _What am I supposed to do? We're outnumbered, and I don't know how many we can take, if it came to a fight. On top of that, they're armed. Things don't look good._

The leader rubbed his hands together, brushing off imaginary dirt as he stood up after tying the girls together. "How is it, is it good?" asked the leader in a contemptuous tone.

"It's a little tight," Julia replied, equally sarcastic. She gave him a dirty look.

"Well…that's the way it should be, sweetie," he answered, and turned back to his henchmen.

"All right, fellas, this is a class-B escort mission. You two," the leader pointed to the two closest to the door, "get the limo ready and wait in front of the entrance of the hotel. We want this to look as nondescript as possible…" As the two men opened the door and made their way to the private elevator, the leader continued to dictate instructions to his crew. "You, go down to the lobby and keep an eye on the private elevator. When it's reasonably clear, get on the house line and call the penthouse, let it ring twice, and hang up. That'll be the signal for us to go down." The man who the leader was talking to, a short man with blond hair and sunglasses, left the room. This left Jin, Ling, Julia, the leader, and three other henchmen in the room. "All right, you are going to come with me as we take this punk to the rendez-vous point, and you two are going to stay here and keep an eye on these ladies. I'll send a signal when you can leave the girls and follow us back to the headquarters." The three henchmen nodded in acknowledgement.

"And you," the leader pointed to Jin, "if you try any funny business, I'll give the command to have these ladies killed. Don't try to be a hero; you'll only regret it later on." Jin stared back at him with hate-filled eyes.

Julia stared at their unwelcome company with equal amounts of hate, frustration, and anger in her face. She tried to take in her surroundings, seeing what she could do to help their situation. Believing that all other plans were futile, she decided on one final last measure: psychological warfare. Just as she was about to say something to pry into the minds of their captors, she felt something cold rub up and down her hands. _What the…_ she thought. Suddenly, the tough rope that bound her hands gave way and they were released. Ecstasy suddenly engulfed Julia's mind. _Oh my goodness, you're a genius, Ling!_ she thought. Just as she was about to attempt to untie the rope that held them together, Julia felt Ling's soft hands hold hers together. Initially confused, Julia understood her motives quickly. _Oh…I get it Ling. You don't want them to think that we've outsmarted them. If we move too much, they might get suspicious, and our whole cover would be blown._

Ling felt Julia's hands relax, and a sudden swell of relief washed over her. _Phew…that was close._ She looked around her captors to see if anybody had noticed their excessive movement. They all seemed preoccupied with Jin. _Good…if this is going to work, the three of us need to be on the same page. Hopefully, these two know what I'm thinking._ Ling began to carefully cut the rope that held her and Julia together with the steak knife that she had hidden in the waist of her school uniform skirt. Painstakingly, she performed this task slowly. _The trick is, I don't want to cut the rope entirely. If I do without the proper diversion, we're dead._

After a couple of minutes, Ling had worked three loops of the rope around them into a thin thread. _All right, this is good. Just two more ropes to cut in the same way._

Suddenly, the phone rang, startling Ling. Before she knew what happened, the ropes that bound Julia and Ling loosened. _Dammit! When I jumped from the sound of the phone, the knife cut through the ropes! Oh well…there's no time like the present… _her mind tried to reason, but she had a feeling that something would go horribly wrong.

As Julia felt their bonds loosening, she silently thanked Ling as she started working on the rope that kept her feet together. _Hurry, dammit!_ her mind screamed.

As the phone rang, Jin's mind was so removed from the situation, that it had become surreal. _Crap…it's time. How in the hell am I going to get us out of this?_ he asked himself in anger. In a moment of frustration he cast his eyes to his friends.Jin stared in amazement as he saw what Ling and Julia. _How in the hell did they manage that? Whatever you guys do, don't try to be heroes. Get out of here!_ he thought. He looked back at the leader and the henchmen; their backs were turned to the girls and they were concentrating on the phone the entire time. In an effort to keep the maintain the façade, he attempted to replace the joy in his face with more fear, although his expression looked strained and forced.

After what seemed like an hour, the second ring of the phone finally ended, and no subsequent rings emanated from it. "Well, guys, you know what that means…" the leader smiled as he walked over to Jin.

"It means you're dead, asshole!" Ling screamed from behind them. Fully free from the ropes, she hurled the steak knife at the nearest enemy. This brown-haired lean man screamed in pain as the knife entered the back part of his shoulder. The knife he had in his own hand fell to the ground as he stood there in shock. Blood squirted from the wound and onto his red blazer as he fell to his knees, nursing his wound.

"What the fuck!" said the puzzled leader, turning around to see the two girls he had just tied together in unfamiliar self-defense stances. Smiling, he reached into his jacket for the gun, "You bitches must be pretty stupid," he mocked as the gun began to emerge from its holster.

Seeing the leader's back fully exposed, Jin instinctively rushed up behind him and tackled him down to the ground. During his tackle, he had inadvertently made the gun fire. The bullet made a hole in the leader's jacket as he and Jin made a tangle limbs, as one tried to get on top of the other.

As the struggle between the men continued, Ling and Julia saw the perfect opportunity to strike. Julia ran up to the nearest adversary as Ling took the last man in the group. Ling's mind ran a mile a minute, _Oh yeah, this adrenaline rush is what I live for!_

Julia and her chosen enemy faced each other. "If you know what's good for you, you'd better sit your ass back down," the man with spiked jet-black hair said with a chuckle. He brandished the knife in his left hand with no apparent pattern to its movement.

"Are you kidding? I got to stay in a penthouse suite, eat fancy hotel food, and I get to bash your face in. I'm not going to sit down and let these guys have the rest of the fun," Julia laughed. Although she presented a tough face, inwardly, she tried to empty her mind. _That knife could do some damage if I'm not careful…please, Spirits, give me strength_.

The black-haired man made the first move. He spun around and tried to strike Julia with a kick to the midsection. Julia predicted the move and backed away out of reach. She tried to counterattack with a jab to the stomach. He blocked the punch, but was truly surprised by the toe of Julia's boot as it quickly made its path up and struck the man in the chin. He went flying backwards as Julia quickly snapped back her leg in pain. _Crap, I didn't stretch beforehand…I can't do anything fancy now._ Jet-Black Hair got up and rubbed his chin. _At least he's disarmed_ Julia thought, _that was step one_. She had seen the knife fly away from his hand as he flew backwards from the kick. "That is the last time you touch me," he said coolly, and took two huge steps to close the distance between them for another offensive.

The brown-haired man with sunglasses that Ling chose as her opponent was still watching the leader and Jin struggle on the ground as she crept up behind him. "Ahem," Ling attempted a fake cough to draw his attention. "AHEM!" she said louder, and finally, the man turned around. Suddenly, his face turned from surprise to anger, as he whipped out the nunchaku in his belt. Just as he was about to swing the pieces of hard wood, Ling kicked his hand in an attempt to disarm him.

Crouching upon himself, the brown haired man held his injured hand. "You stupid, bitch!" he screamed in anger. He switched the nunchaku to his left hand, and began to spin them in a dizzying display of mastery. _Oh crap…this doesn't look good. He knows his stuff,_ Ling thought. She tried to concentrate on the spinning patterns, but it was obvious to her that Brown-Hair had been playing with these weapons for quite some time. _I can't see the damn thing!_ Suddenly, he broke his pattern and tried to swing for her temple. She dodged the strike by leaning backward, with the edge of the nunchaku missing her cheek by mere centimeters. She felt the wind from the weapon blow across her face. She transformed her lean-back dodge into a full backflip retreat from her attacker. "Ya scared, girly?" mocked Brown-Hair.

"I'm only scared of the horrible job your stylist did with your hair! Seriously…dying your black hair brown doesn't look too good on you," smiled Ling.

Brown-Hair touched his hair with his injured hand unconsciously. "You think you're funny? I'll be the one laughing when I get through you," he replied with a red face.

"Sucker, I'm already laughing at you!" Ling yelled, as she ran up to him to take the put the pressure on him. _I need to disarm him, or I won't have a chance!_

Jin and the leader came up emerged from their struggle, both panting heavily. Jin looked down; the gun was closer to his opponent. That instant, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the leader dive for it. Jin followed suit, but the man already had the gun in his hand. Jin promptly stepped on his hand with his boot.

"GAHHHH! You punk!" he screamed, with his hand still on the gun. Jin stepped on his hand again, and amidst the yells from the leader, a sick crack came from the leader's hand. Jin stopped his assault on his hand after hearing the bone break and he kicked the gun away. Jin allowed the man to get up and face him. The leader got to his feet, holding his hand. Surprising Jin, the man pulled at the fingers of his injured hand, as you would to crack your knuckles, making even further sick cracking sound. _What the hell?_ Jin thought.

"Perplexed, asshole?" he asked. He continued down to his pinky finger. "No pain, no gain," he said through gritted teeth.

_Why in the hell is he injuring his hand more?_ Jin tried to figure it out. He continued staring at his enemy with a dumbfounded look on his face.

"I'd rather kill my hand myself than have your punk-ass get a hold of it again," he replied. Jin took notice to the sweat pouring down the forehead as he pulled at his hand.

"All right, let's do this," he said, cracking his knuckles once more, and he ran up to attack Jin with amazing speed.

Julia found herself on the defensive as Jet-Black Hair rushed into a flurry of punches. As she tried to find an opening to counterattack between hits, she backed further and further. Unable to see what was behind her, she tripped backwards on a recliner chair. Jet-Black Hair smiled from above, "Looks like this is it, bitch," as he raised his fist to knock her out. Julia attempted to kick him in the stomach from the ground, but he easily foresaw the move and caught her foot. In desperation, she attempted the same attack with her other leg, and Jet-Black Hair caught her other foot and trapped it between his side and arm again. _Damn…this isn't good_ she instantly thought. Jet-Black Hair held her legs in place as he began to spin, scraping Julia's head against the floor and contorting her neck in odd positions. She screamed in discomfort from the ride, as he began to spin faster and faster, lifting her parallel to the floor. When Jet-Black had enough speed, he let go of Julia quickly, sending her flying sideways into the opposite wall with a loud crash.

Julia grunted as she fell to the ground, dizzy from her experience. She tried desperately to get air into her lungs. Trying to assess the damage done, she first noticed a throbbing pain at the back of her head. Placing her hand in the area, it emerged with crimson blood. She looked up at her adversary. He smiled carelessly back, and began to walk towards her.

"I tried to tell you, if you knew what was best for you, you should have sat your ass down and let me tie you up again. It's such a shame too…you're pretty cute." the man teased.

"I'm not done yet, don't underestimate me," Julia gritted between her teeth. She got up to her feet and faced her opponent once again, with a new fire in her spirit.

As the man approached, Julia focused herself. _I can do this. I can do this. I can do this_ she repeated. _I am stronger, I am more disciplined, my will is more hardened_. Suddenly, she felt ready for whatever he could throw at her. When Jet-Black Hair got within reasonable distance, he suddenly rushed up to her and wound his right fist up. _Don't be so predictable_ Julia laughed, and she leaned left to dodge the punch. As the man was thrown off balance, she took a quick step forward and in one fluid motion, dug her left elbow into his stomach.

Doubling over and holding his stomach, the man tried to recover quickly. As he muttered a swear, he let a little chuckle escape from his lips. "That was pretty nice, where did you learn that?" he asked with a strain in his voice.

"It doesn't matter where I learned it. Just know that there's a lot more of it coming," she retorted as she ran to follow up her attack.

As Julia quickly approached, Jet-Black Hair tried to ready himself for the incoming onslaught. He noticed the intensity in her eyes. _This girl ain't joking_ he thought to himself.

In the middle of their exchange of punches, kicks, and blocks, Jet-Black Hair attempted to grab Julia by the shoulders. _No no no no, that won't work on me_ she thought, and easily slipped through his grip with a brush from her hands. In response, she wound up both fists and focused all of her power and weight into them as she sent them toward his chest. Connecting successfully, the man groaned as he reeled back and clutched his chest, gasping for breath. Julia took the opportunity to follow up by giving him another elbow thrust into his unprotected stomach.

With tears in his eyes, he sent out one last sloppily-thrown punch. Lacking in all form, Julia noticed his abdomen was unguarded again, and she struck it with a closed fist once more. Doubling over in pain and shock, she saw the opportunity for the finishing move. Suddenly, the power within overwhelmed herself. It seemed as if Mother Earth had lent Julia its power, and it was all concentrated into her fist. With one last yell of brawn, she drove her fist into his chin, sending him upwards, into the chandelier hanging from the penthouse ceiling and followed him through until he fell to the ground with a loud crash.

Julia stood there, looking at her opponent and the crystal chandelier in shock. She noticed that her opponent's blood was on the ceiling as it had escaped from his mouth from the powerful strike. _What was that? Power just surged through my whole body. I've never been able to send anybody that high with just one punch…_ As her newfound power began to leave her, she started to feel frightened by the prospect of owning so much strength. _I just need to calm down…it was all the adrenaline in my system…right?_ Apprehensive, she clasped her hands together. _Thank you Spirits, for lending me your strength._ However, she wasn't entirely convinced that this was the work of her ancestors. Trying to push the thought to the back of her mind, she surveyed the penthouse to see if her friends needed any help.

Meanwhile, Ling was struggling with Brown Hair, the nunchaku master. So far, she had not found a way to disarm him. Suddenly, she thought of a plan. _I think you're gonna have to take one for the team_ she told her body. Brown Hair swung his nunchukus over his head, around his body, by his side, trying to go for a knockout. However, Ling had dodged each attempted blow with grace and lithe. She watched his movements carefully, dodging the nunchaku. _All I need is the right strike. Come on, give me the right strike_. Suddenly, she found it. The man swung his nunchaku around, and tried to hit Ling in her side. Instead of backing away like she had been doing for the entire fight, she leaned into it, expecting the blow.

When it did connect with her side, she yelped in pain. _Crap…this hurts like a bitch_ she thought. But she knew what she had to do. She trapped the nunchaku between her arm and her side and placed her hand on the end of the stick. Brown Hair looked at him incredulously.

"Surprised, bitch?" she asked with a strained face, and she quickly struck him in the chin with a fast kick. His sunglasses flew off as his head snapped backwards, and Ling pulled on her side of the nunchaku to pull him closer. When he was close enough, she struck his wrist with a quick chop, and he let go of his vise-grip on the weapon.

_Finally…that part of the fight is over with_ she thought. She had a feeling that without the weapon, Brown Hair was a pretty crummy fighter. Ling smiled as she waited for her adversary to recover.

"Come on, you're not going to get beat by a little girl, right? What would your boss say if your ass was handed to you by this little schoolgirl? I'm only seventeen! What are you, in your twenties? Thirties? It doesn't matter, you move like your seventy!" Ling let out an uproarious laugh. As she goaded him on, the man became increasingly annoyed with her. Her technique of getting under his skin was working. In anger, he rushed at her with a hasty punch.

"Seriously…is that really all you got?" she taunted as she dodged the punch easily. As she stepped out of harm's way, she flicked her opponent's forehead and smiled back at him. He lunged at her again with a predictable roundhouse kick. Ling easily ducked under it and quickly knife-chopped him in the stomach. She continued the relentless taunting, "God…you're horrible at this. O.K., here, I'm going to tell you my next attack. That way, you can plan accordingly and block when appropriate. This will level the playing field. O.K., I'm going to sweep your legs with my right foot, all right? Remember, the next thing I'll do is sweep your legs with my right foot."

"Shut up, bitch!" he screamed at her, rushing in again with a jab. She parried the punch away, throwing off her attacker's balance. Sure enough, Ling crouched low and spun on her left leg, and with her fully extended right leg, swept the ground from under her attacker in a neat arc. The man fell on his back with a loud _thump_.

"I told you I would try to trip you. And you still did! At first, this was pretty fun. But since you suck so much, this is getting really boring," she laughed loudly.

"All right little girl, I'm done with your games!" As he got up, Brown Hair took a plate from one of the nearby food carts and flung the contents at her.

_Shit…what the hell?_ she thought as she put up her arms to shield herself from the discarded food and utensils that were suddenly flying towards. With respectable speed, Brown Hair closed the distance between them and in the moment of distraction, kicked her in her injured side. Ling reeled back from the hit, and as she was about to fall down on her bottom, she reached the wall and kept to her feet. Holding her side, she muttered a swear. _Damn…I'm gonna feel this throbbing pain in my side tomorrow_.

"You know, you weren't to bad, little girl. But I'm done playing games," Brown Hair said as he cornered her.

"I agree. This game is over. I tried to knock you out with a 'Perfect', but I'll settle for a regular 'K.O.'" she replied, breathing heavily and clutching her side.

A smile emerged on his face, and he rushed up to finish the job. Ling turned his back to him and ran up the wall. Startled, the man hesitated for just a second; and that was enough. Ling kicked off from the wall and flipped in mid-air. One of Ling's boots connected with the crown of Brown Hair's head, and suddenly, his head was engulfed in pain. As he was staggering backward, Ling grabbed his arm and quickly pulled him toward her. She put her left foot on his right hip and used it as a stool to launch herself over him. As Ling made her way over him, she kicked him in the base of the neck, sending him forward. His forehead smashed into the wall, and blood shot sideways from the point of impact.

To finish the deed, Ling rushed up to his exposed back and felt some new, unknown source of power raging within her. Even though she was tired from the fight, she didn't know how she was running up to him for one more attack. It seemed as if the heavy air in the room was collecting around her and filling her body with the energy to move on. _This is it…the finisher. I'm going to send this arrogant punk to the hospital, and I like it_ she smiled. She put all of her weight into chop that connected with the side of his neck, and, concentrating all of the borrowed energy, she kicked Brown Hair with all of her might face-first into the wall. A loud _crack_ from the wall was heard, and she immediately knew that the battle was over. The force of impact was so great, that four large cracks, zig-zagging left and right, up and down, appeared on the wall when Brown Hair finally slumped down in defeat, coughing and gasping for air.

_That was definitely strange. I thought I was spent, but somehow new energy just filled inside me._ Ling shuddered at the thought. _Whatever it was, it felt good to have_ she concluded. Looking around, she decided that she couldn't go on, and she slumped down on the ground and nursed the injury in her side.

Jin and the leader had continued the struggle. Jin had tried every strategy his mother had ever taught him, but the leader seemed well-versed in the art of hand-to-hand combat. _The guy seems like he's a step ahead of me every time!_ he worried, _what am I supposed to do?_

After a brief hiatus in the action, the leader rushed up to Jin again. He put all of his weight and momentum into a leading punch with his left hand. Truly surprised by the amount of force behind the punch, in addition to the fact that the punch came from his arm with the injured wrist, Jin's block faltered.

"An opening!" the leader grinned in delight, and he struck Jin's stomach with his fist. Jin felt the air escape him, and he stood stationary, stunned. Knowing that a similar strike was coming, Jin tightened his abdomen muscles to lessen the pain and protect his stomach from the ensuing strike. As expected, the leader followed up with a knee to the stomach. While the strike still hurt, there wasn't as much pain as there would have been if he hadn't trained his body to take these types of blows.

The leader let Jin fall to the ground. Jin attempted to get air into his lungs, but for some reason, a pain in his chest always forced the air out. Jin coughed a little bit, but made his way back to his feet.

"You're _definitely_ going to pay for that," Jin wearily said as he stood up.

"In the state your in, I definitely doubt it," the leader laughed, and he rushed back to Jin.

Jin dodged, blocked, and gathered data on his enemy. _I think I get the pattern now_, he thought. With a surprise punch from the leader, Jin blocked with his right wrist. "Gaaah!" he cried, as the pain from his wrist shot up from his arm. He backed away, nursing the wrapped joint.

The leader looked at him, first in puzzlement, then with happiness, "Ahhh…I didn't even notice that your wrist was hurt. Now that I know, I'll make quick work of you now."

_Dammit…I can't take any more hits to this arm. Now what do I do?_

The leader came up and led with a right hook, and Jin blocked with his left arm. _Here it comes_ Jin thought, and as expected, the leader came with a left jab. Knowing that he couldn't block with the arm, Jin moved to the right side and moved his arms above and below the leader's punch.

"You're trapped," Jin smiled, as he grabbed the man's wrist with his right hand. _What the hell is he smiling about?_ thought the leader as worry swept over him. Jin brought the man to one knee with a sharp kick to the pit of his left knee, and struck the base of his neck with his right fist. The leader fell forward, clutching the back of his neck with pain. _If I keep up with using his own attacks against him, this will definitely go well._

"Shit…that hurt, man," the leader laughed. He got up and brushed himself off. "Hopefully, the boss won't be mad if I _play_ with you for a little while. Right now, no paycheck could match up to the satisfaction of beating down your arrogant ass." the leader snarled angrily.

"Arrogant? I'm hurt!" Jin replied sarcastically.

The leader flashed his signature creepy smile as he ran up to Jin again. He sent Jin another right hook. _He seems to like the right hook_ Jin thought, and he ducked under the punch accordingly. Jin swept for his feet, and the leader tripped upon them. As the man was falling down from the sweep, Jin quickly brought both of his feet under him and launched himself upward with an uppercut. The blow landed cleanly beneath the leader's chin, and he was sent flying away.

As the leader landed on the ground, he groaned in pain as his back ached. Just as he attempted to sit up to face Jin, his young opponent ran up to him and jumped in the air. Jin curled up and somersaulted, extending his right leg in the last part of the cycle. As he reached the floor, Jin dug his heel into the stomach of the leader with full force as he landed on the floor.

Crimson blood exploded from his mouth as blow connected. He clutched his stomach in pain and gasped for air as Jin got to his feet and stood over him. Jin knelt down and grabbed the front of the leader's fake Mishima Hotel uniform. With Julia and Ling victorious with their fight about the same times, they walked over to Jin and the downed and defeated leader.

"Are you guys all right?" asked a concerned Jin. Julia nodded, holding the back of her head, while Ling muttered approval while holding her side.

"How about you?" Ling asked, and Jin slightly nodded in confirmation.

"So…" Jin began, turning his attention to the leader and proud that he had bested this trained man, "would you mind telling me who sent you?"

The leader spit a fresh glob of warm blood straight into Jin's face. Wiping it away with disgust, Jin punched the leader with his left hand. The leader spit out some more blood to the ground on his left side.

"Now…I really suggest you tell me this itty bitty piece of information," continued Jin, seemingly unfazed. "Who's your employer?"

The leader was about to send out another sarcastic comment, but suddenly the four of them heard a frantic voice behind them.

"Squad! Squad! The mission has been botched! We need backup!" coughed the first man Ling injured with the knife. He was lying on his stomach, pressing a communicator against his left ear and talking to a receptor.

"I repeat! The mission ha—" the man then yelled out in pain as Ling had ran up to him and kicked him in the side of the head, knocking him out.

"Oh shit…" Julia swore.

"Let's get out of here!" Jin yelled to his friends, punching the leader hard one more time to knock him out.

Jin ran to the private penthouse elevator. "What are you doing?" cried Julia. "That elevator goes down to the ground floor! There will be more bad guys waiting for us there!"

"There isn't any other way out!" yelled Jin. The signature and unmistakable _ding_ of the elevator emanated throughout all of their ears. The three of them looked up at the display above the elevator.

It displayed one word: "Ground." Next to the word was an arrow pointing upward.

**Note: **_Thanks for sticking with the story guys. I thank all of you who have left reviews, and I definitely view them as motivation to continue the story. Even though I am new to the site, I am beginning to like the community around here. Do you guys have a question? Comment? Advice? Please feel free to leave a review. I truly appreciate it. _


	8. Easy Come, Easy Go

_Shit,_ Jin thought, as the elevator made its way up, creating a distinct _whirring_ sound. He quickly looked around the room. The bodies of their opponents were sprawled across the floor, and the floor was covered in debris from their battle. His eyes quickly averted from the floor to the windows.

"Is there some kind of fire-escape outside the window?" Jin asked desperately.

"We're on the 35th floor, Jin!" Ling cried with exasperation.

Julia pointed to the door marked in red across the door to the elevator. "That's the fire-escape staircase, but if we open it, the alarm for the entire building will be set off, and they'll know that we have gone down that way," Julia reasoned with only a hint of worry in her tone.

"Do any of you remember how many are coming up? Do you think we can take them?" As Ling said this, suddenly her side ached, a reminder of the condition that she was in and perhaps her body's own response to the question.

Julia turned her head to face Ling, "Three more that were in the room before are coming up, but there might be additional people who didn't come up beforehand…if it came to that, I could take some I guess," she said feebly.

"No, we have to get out of here," Jin replied, trying to reason with the girls.

"Well…right now, the situation doesn't look like that is an immediate option," Julia responded. She scratched the top of her head while looking at the display above the elevator. _It's already at the 10th floor…time is running out!_

"Whatever we do…we better decide quickly!" exclaimed Ling as she pointed to the display, as if Julia and her minds were connected.

Suddenly, Jin thought of something. Thinking that his plan would work, he scanned the floor of the penthouse again for the gun that the leader had dropped. He rushed over to the gun and checked the magazine clip. Only one bullet was missing. _Good…this should be more than enough. Hopefully, it won't have to come to that, though,_ Jin worried.

"Guys, get some weapons. Hopefully, we can scare them off with 'em," Jin explained.

"I'm not sure if this'll work," Julia voiced apprehensively, walking over to the knife that her opponent had been armed with. "I don't even know how to use this!"

"I guess you don't have to know how, but look like you do," Ling explained as she jogged over to her friends, wielding the nunchaku and flailing them in a truly foolish manner.

_Shit…this isn't going to work_ Jin thought, as he saw Julia hold the knife as if a flesh-eating virus inhabited the tip, and as Ling played with the nunchaku like a toy. _I myself have never fired a gun before. What do I know about guns, other than Ling's damned paintball guns that I still can't hit anything with._

"Guys…as soon as it is reasonably safe, we make a bee-line to the elevator," Jin explained. _Why does this plan sound more pathetic than when I thought of it a couple of seconds ago?_

Jin looked up at the display above the elevator, reading "32", with an arrow pointing upward.

"All right guys, look the part, and remember the plan." Jin explained, making an effort to sound calm. He continued to stare at the elevator display.

_33rd floor…_

_34th floor…_

_35th floor…here it is_

Once again, the elevator's _ding_ rang throughout entire penthouse. After an additional second of agonizing waiting, the _whir_ of the elevator stopped, further underscoring the elevator's arrival. The shiny silver doors of the elevator separated by a mere 10 centimeters when something was thrown into the room, landing at the feet of the group. As the black tube made impact with the ground, a loud _hiss_ suddenly filled the room. In a second and a half, the room was filled with a thick smoke.

_Fuck…a smoke bomb!_ _This is definitely not-- _ Jin didn't get to finish his thought as a fist emerged from the smoke in front of him and hit him in his jaw, dropping the gun in his hand. Jin fell to the ground, trying to find his unseen attacker. Out of the corner of his eye, Jin saw a foot coming from the smoke, trying to strike him in the ribs. With great dexterity, Jin grabbed both sides of the foot before it made contact and twisted it, throwing his attacker off balance. He heard the _thump_ of his attacker hitting the ground next to him. He quickly snapped his foot back and kicked the man's face. The man screamed in anguish, his face contorted from the pain. He covered his nose with his hands, with blood flowing freely between his fingers.

Jin let out an searching plea, "Guys, where are you!"

Amidst the chaos, Jin heard a response. "Jin, get to the elevator!" Ling screamed.

Jin got up from the ground and ran to what he thought was the direction of the elevator. After searching the wall, he finally found it and entered the small space.

Jin quickly pressed the "Ground Floor" button. As if responding, "Yes Master," the elevator's mechanism began to close the door promptly. Simultaneously, Ling screamed at Jin, "What are you doing!"

Jin faced her, annoyed. "I'm trying to save our fuckin' lives! Do you want to die!" Jin yelled angrily.

Ling pushed Jin aside and fumbled for the "Open Door" button. Some of the smoke had entered the elevator and clouded her vision. Deciding there wasn't enough time for idleness, Ling mashed all of the buttons on the panel, hoping for the right button.

Suddenly, the elevator gave way, heading downward. In addition to the reduced feeling of weight as it went down, Ling's stomach dropped. She faced Jin with a face of pure terror.

"What the fuck were you trying to do?" Jin demanded. "Why in the hell did you want to open the door?"

"Jin," she stammered, with her voice escalating, "Julia is still in the penthouse!"

Jin looked around the oversized elevator in disbelief, although he knew he wouldn't find his new friend, the Native American girl, Julia. _Oh my god…_

"We have to get back up there!" Jin yelled. He bent over the panel and quickly jabbed at the already lit up "Penthouse" button. To Jin's shock, the elevator continued to go down. He punched the button repeatedly, hoping for a different result each time.

"It's going to go down to the ground floor before going back up!" Ling cried.

"Shit!" Jin yelled in frustration and exasperation, punching the wall of the elevator.

* * *

After striking her opponent with a quick jab, Julia heard the unmistakable _ding_ of the private elevator, and suddenly, her face filled with horror. _Did they leave?_ Julia asked herself apprehensively, her mind unsure if she wanted to know the answer. Julia's second opponent saw an opening in her offense, and threw a right hook aimed at Julia's face.

She noticed the man's attack too late, and set up a weak block. Her opponent's punch broke through her block, and she fell over sideways from the momentum and force behind the unexpected punch. With expert agility, however, she quickly placed her feet underneath her body in mid-air and positioned her body in a crouch. Julia took the opportunity to kick the man's unguarded shins, disabling him in a fit of pain. Before the man could react, she launched herself with her hands, feet first, flying upwards towards his chest. He faltered at the unexpected attack and Julia landed on his chest. The man fell to the floor, clutching the breast of his fake uniform in pain as she jumped off of him.

_That isn't going to keep him down forever…I have to find a way out, _Julia thought.

She raised her arms in front of her, unable to see in front of her. Tears streamed down her eyes as gas became caught between her contact lenses and her pupil. She periodically had to wipe them away, and she knew that if she didn't get out of the smoke soon, the tears would prevent her from seeing all-together.

She felt around the walls, and to her horror, she felt the cold metal of the elevator doors. _They really did leave without me_, Julia began to panic. She jabbed at the elevator call button, but when the doors didn't immediately open, it only affirmed her worst suspicions. She pounded the door in frustration, as tears of panic rushed down her face.

_Get yourself together, Julia. They probably didn't mean it_ she attempted to rationalize, _get yourself out of here…these people are trying to kill you!_

Collecting herself, Julia felt around the edge of the walls for the other door. _This is the only chance I have._ After what seemed like hours of searching through the blinding fog, Julia finally found what she was looking for. The metal bar that acted as a doorknob felt cool to the touch. _As soon as you open this door, you better get your ass down those stairs as fast as you can_ Julia tried to motivate herself. Suddenly, she heard a groan from the man that she had knocked down. Looking back, she saw that he was almost back to his feet, with his fake red and black Mishima Hotel uniform looking tattered and disheveled.

_It's now or nothing. Here you go Julia._

She pressed upon the door with all of her weight, and took in the dark corridor. A split-second later, a loud fire-alarm siren rang throughout the staircase. Instinctively, she closed her eyes tightly and covered her ears, but she put her hands by her side quickly and made her way down the long staircase that made a serpentine path from the four walls of the passage all the way to the bottom.

As Julia ran down the stairs, she heard the yell of the man behind her, although she couldn't make out what he was saying with the blaring alarm. At an alarming rate, guests from the hotel, clad in normal tourist clothes, began filtering through to the fire-escape staircase and soon, they began to block Julia's path down to the bottom.

"Excuse me. Pardon me. I'm sorry. Sorry about that." Julia repeated after every brush against a stray shoulder and every foot she accidentally stepped on. The people looked at the young Native American with contempt as she rudely tried to make her way past them.

_Hopefully those bastards I used to think were my friends die in that elevator_ Julia thought as she passed a little kid.

_Don't say that…I'm sure they are your friends. It was probably a misunderstanding_ an opposing voice said within her mind.

_Bullshit! How could they not notice I wasn't in there! They obviously thought I was expendable this entire time _replied an unfamiliar, vicious Julia. Julia attempted to push that ugly voice away with all of her power. She didn't want to think those horrible thoughts anymore. Suddenly, the voice faded away, and the usual reasonable voice in Julia's head took back the reigns in Julia's mind.

As Julia jumped from the middle step in the staircase to the next landing, she tried to calm herself down. She looked back up the fire-escape, and couldn't see her assailant anywhere. _Good…let's keep it that way_ she thought as she skipped another couple of steps to plant her mud-caked school boots on the next landing. As she passed a door, she looked at the placard next to it. It read "Floor 32". _Great…_ she thought, _just spectacular. Three stories down, thirty-two to go…_

_

* * *

_

As soon as the fire alarm began its deafening shout of warning, the private elevator lurched to a stop. Jin and Ling looked around, covering their ears from the loud racket.

After an awkward silence, Ling tried to begin conversation, "At least we know Julia is alive," she muttered.

"Or they killed Julia, noticed that we took the elevator, and are trying to trap us by stopping the elevator with the fire alarm, and it's all my fault because I couldn't take one second to find her," Jin whispered meekly.

Ling looked away from her friend's sad face. Jin looked utterly defeated. _He might be right…_ Even though emotion protested, her head knew that Jin's morbid scenario might be possible. She was about to look back and protest in an attempt to boost morale, but Jin looked…

_Pathetic…he's already given up_ Ling thought. She looked down at her school uniform. Somehow, someone's blood made splotches of stains on her vest and skirt. _Oh wait…_ she looked at her arm, and noticed that the blood was her own. She suddenly remembered that when the fake hotel workers ambushed them from the elevator, somebody had slashed her arm. Without thinking, she applied pressure to stop the bleeding.

After another uncomfortable silence, Jin finally looked up at Ling. "Xiao, I'll give you a boost, and you try to see if any of those ceiling panels will come loose," Jin said with a soft tone. Ling looked up at him with surprise in her face. "I've seen it done in movies all the time," he continued.

"Umm…sure, sounds like a plan, but don't look up my skirt," Ling said with a trace of a smirk to lighten the mood, still startled. She kicked off her school boots and took Jin's hand as he lifted her on his shoulders.

"This is neither the time nor the place for jokes," Jin replied without the slightest hint of jest in his tone. Ling made her way to Jin's shoulders, and, finding her balance, stood straight up with her hands outstretched. Jin held her feet to his shoulders for added support.

"I…can't…reach…" Ling strained, as she tiptoed on Jin's thick shoulders to try to touch the top panels.

"Jump, or something," encouraged Jin.

"I'll fall!" Ling protested.

"I'll catch you if you do, I swear, Xiao," Jin responded.

Still unconvinced, Ling made a small, half-hearted hop on Jin's shoulders to try to reach the panel.

"I still can't reach," Ling explained.

Just as Jin hung his had and was about to let go of Ling's feet so she could step down, she interrupted, "Try stepping on my shoes or something. That might give me the centimeters I need to get up there."

"Umm…I guess so," Jin replied apprehensively.

Ling sat down on Jin's shoulders for stability as Jin made his way to her discarded shoes.

"Have you gained weight, Ling?" Jin grunted without a hint of playfulness in his voice.

"Just get the damn shoes, Jin! We need to get out of here!" Ling yelled.

Jin stood the shoes up and stepped on them, immediately subjecting him to an unnatural position which strained his calf muscles.

"Hurry up…this is hurting my legs," Jin protested.

Ling stood up again on Jin's shoulders, and she successfully reached one of the ceiling panels. The first of the shiny green panels refused to budge, regardless of Ling's efforts. However, the second one she touched felt different from the first, and when she applied pressure, it gave way, revealing the dark elevator shaft above them.

"Success!" Ling exclaimed. "Let's get out of here," she exhaled.

Ling jumped from Jin's shoulders and caught the ledge of the top of the elevator. The already unbearable fire-alarm siren blared even louder in the shaft of the elevator, as the echo bounced back and forth between the walls. She pulled herself up to the top of the elevator. As she looked up, she marveled at the dark expanse. _Is this really an elevator shaft in a hotel? It looks like we're in a black hole or something…_

After Jin threw her shoes through the hole in the ceiling, Ling outstretched her arms, and Jin jumped up and grabbed them. "Holy crap…it seems like you're the one that gained weight, Jin," Ling strained as she pulled him up. As soon as he was high enough, Jin switched his grip from Ling's hands to the edge of the hole she made, and she bent over, grabbed his waist, and heaved him up with a loud grunt.

Out of breath, Ling panted, "Now what?" She fumbled to get her shoes back on.

Jin looked around, quite out of breath himself. He began to feel the concrete sides of the elevator shaft, and was surprised to feel a metallic cold in a recess in the wall.

"Ling…come over here. I can't see anything, but feel this," Jin said.

Ling walked over to her friend and placed her hands were his were a moment ago. "Sheesh…it's kind of cold…and there seems to be a ledge right here." Ling jumped up onto the thin ledge of concrete. "Jin, it feels like the other side of an elevator door!" she exclaimed with excitement.

"Just as I thought," he said with a hint of enthusiasm. "We're lucky that the elevator stopped here." He climbed up upon the ledge next to her and began feeling for the crack in the door where the door separated.

"Here it is, Jin," Ling motioned for Jin to come next to her. When he put his hands on the door again, he immediately felt the gap.

"You pull right, I'll pull left," Jin said. Through the darkness, he could tell that Ling nodded in response. "On three: one, two, three!"

Jin and Ling put all of their might into opening the elevator door. It refused to budge from its stationary position.

"Dammit! Why won't you move!" Ling cried.

Jin wiped a collection of sweat from his brow with left hand. "Ready to try again?" he asked, even though is right wrist was screaming from his extended efforts.

On their second attempt, no progress was made. Ling jumped back to the top of the elevator and sat down, panting for breath. Jin stayed on the ledge and continued to pull at the door with no apparent results.

The unfamiliar, dark voice within Jin chimed in again, _Why are you still trying? There is no point. You two have been beat by some goons who like to play dress-up._

_It ain't over 'til it's over,_ the more known, more well-liked voice within Jin's voice said.

_Stop living in your fantasy world and take a look at the most probable, realistic situation: that chick you met today is dead, you're going to get caught by the bad guys, you're going to be brought to whoever sent them, they'll probably rape and kill the little paint-balling bitch, and they'll torture you for no apparent reason._

Jin's muscles tightened and contracted as his inner self went on his tirade. Strength that seemed to non-existent within his body a few seconds ago suddenly flowed through his veins and muscles. He gritted his teeth as he continued to pull at the elevator door, and suddenly, a crack of light emerged from a small gap between the pieces of the metal doors.

Just as she was going to turn around and tell Jin it was futile to keep pulling at the door, Ling looked up and saw the light illuminate a small portion of the wall in the opposite side of the elevator shaft. Surprised, she quickly turned to the door.

"Holy crap, you're getting it open!" Ling exclaimed. _But how in the hell…we couldn't do it together, but suddenly he can do it by himself? _

Ling quickly jumped up on the ledge and wiggled her fingers in the crack of the door and began to pull. As soon as she started pulling, she felt something strange. _Something definitely isn't right about this…_ Ling thought, _it feels like there is some…I don't know…evil here._

Ling glanced back at the elevator shaft, looking around to see if there was anything watching them. She turned to Jin to ask for his reassurance.

"Jin, do you feel something weir—" Ling stopped herself as she looked at her friend. She stared at him in shock. Horrified, she felt the strength in her arms fade, and she began to pull at the elevator door loosely.

_Oh my god…it's coming from Jin,_ Ling thought, trying to deny the fact herself.

_It is…even in this pitch-black elevator shaft, everything seems physically darker around him. _

"Stand back, Xiao," Jin snarled in an unfamiliar tone.

Startled at Jin for interrupting her thoughts, she dutifully jumped off the ledge and back onto the elevator unenthusiastically.

Jin had stayed in a slight crouch, attempting to open the door the entire time. His arm and leg muscles strained, but he told them to keep going.

Jin let loose an angry yell, and the door significantly. _Only a little more…_ Jin thought.

_You're not going to make it. You're too weak, _replied the evil voice within him.

_Shut up._

_You can't deny the truth. You couldn't save your mom, so it's only natural to assume that you can't save anybody. Not even yourself._

At the last statement, Jin filled the elevator shaft with an ear-splitting yell that rivaled the fire-alarm siren. With all of his might, he pulled the doors apart once again, and more progress was made.

Breathing heavily, Jin commanded Ling. "Xiao, you can fit through here," he yelled.

Removed from the situation entirely in shock of the evil that had surrounded Jin, Ling mechanically complied and climbed up the ledge to pass through the doors. As she made her way under Jin, a cold chill traveled up and down her spine.

_This isn't right…this definitely isn't right_ she thought as she emerged in the other side of the door; in a lavishly decorated floor of the hotel. While it wasn't as fancy as the penthouse, the area still looked amazing with old Victorian gold and white patterns on the walls.

As soon as the artificial light from the lamps on the ceiling hit her, she broke out of her trance. Immediately, she noticed that many of the room doors were open and that people were leaving the floor via the staircase.

Ling turned back to Jin. "I'll get something to prop the door open," she quickly said, and was off going into one of the rooms.

_Whatever you get, Xiao, make it quick. I can't do this for much longer._

Ling emerged with a metal bar that held the curtains up in a shower. She slid the bar into the crack of the door and started to use the rudimentary lever to pry the door open.

_I can't believe it…_ Ling thought, as the crack between the doors started to get larger and larger.

"Jin, it's working!" Ling excitedly exclaimed, and she looked at him.

_What the hell is that!_ she immediately thought, as she laid eyes upon Jin's forehead. In the limited light of the elevator shaft, it looked like a pattern of black tattoo marks were sprawled over his head. His eyes, not the vibrant brown that their female schoolmates when crazy over, looked pitch black and empty.

_Jin! What's wrong with you!_

With one final heave, Jin and Ling opened the door to the point where Jin crawled through, breathing heavily from the task and lying on his stomach. Ling turned Jin around to examine his eyes and forehead.

Jin looked at Ling in total surprise as she turned him over and looked at the shocked expression on her face.

"What's wrong, Ling?" Jin asked eagerly, still panting for breath.

"Umm…what? Oh…nothing…I guess," Ling said feebly.

The marks on his forehead weren't there. His eyes were the familiar brown that Ling had known for the past four years.

_Maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me…it was really dark in the elevator shaft_ Ling reasoned. _But then…what was the cold chill I felt as I passed him? Oh god…I don' t know anything anymore…_

Jin continued, "You don't look too well, Ling, are you all right?"

Ling brushed him off with a fake smile, "Yeah…I'm fine. Let's go, we have to find Julia!"

"Roger," Jin quickly said as he and Ling climbed to their feet, despite the repeated protests from his heaving chest, begging for air to enter his lungs. They quickly ran to the fire-escape door and down the crowded stairs.

* * *

Julia breathed heavily as she finally reached her goal. _Ground floor…thank goodness._ Looking back at the packed staircase, she still did not find her pursuer. _It looks like I've lost him…good work._

She walked through the already-opened door and marveled at the lobby. There was a mob of people in the lobby, all screaming and in utter confusion over the situation. Children cried left and right, and parents yelled at the hotel staff, trying to figure out what was happening. Slowly, people filtered out throughout the many emergency exits.

Shamelessly, Julia jumped on the closest table and looked around for Jin and Ling, shouting their names. However, the effort was futile, as the combined noise of the fire-alarm and the yells of the hotel patrons drowned out her voice. After another minute of searching for her friends, she fruitlessly hopped down the table and made her way to the nearest exit. _Maybe they'll be waiting for me outside_, she thought, although she couldn't convince herself.

When she finally made her way out of the hotel, her mouth dropped open in shock. It was even more of a mess outside. Fire trucks filled the street, congesting traffic and blocking the roads. It looked like all of Japan had come to see the drama unfold as the Mishima Hotel was under a fake fire. _Wow…I did this…_ Julia thought.

"Excuse me, were you in the penthouse when the alarm went off?" an accented, unfamiliar voice asked, seemingly coming from nowhere.

Julia quickly turned around to find a blond man, his hair slicked back, wearing a rather unfashionable blue long-sleeved shirt and khakis. On his hands, Julia found it peculiar that he was wearing gloves. _Those look like sparring gloves_ Julia thought, quickly deciding to choose her words carefully around him.

"Umm…why?" asked Julia.

"Young lady, this is an investigation. The fire alarm originated from the penthouse. I need to find out what happened." the man said smoothly with his accent. "May I see some I.D.?"

"I don't have any…I left everything back in the penthouse…" Julia explained. As soon as the last word escaped her mouth, she immediately regretted it, closing her eyes in defeat to hide herself from the glare of the man. _Shit! How could I be so stupid?_ she asked herself. As she opened her eyes, she was surprised to see that the man wasn't in front of her. _What the…where did he go?_

As if in response to her question, she felt cold metal on both of her wrists. "Pulling a fire alarm in a public building without just cause is a federal offense. Lying to an officer is another federal offense. For now, you're under arrest." whispered the man behind her.

* * *

Jin and Ling finally made their way outside of the hotel.

"Look for Julia! Meet back here in 20 minutes," Ling commanded. They both split up, in search of their friend.

"Julia! Julia!" Ling cried into the crowd. As her eyes scanned the crowd, she quickly became discouraged. _There are so many people here!_

Suddenly, a girl not much younger than herself approached Ling with tears in her eyes. She wore a blue halter-top with some black and blue sleeveless overalls that cut off in her thighs.

"Excuse me…can you help me?" choked the girl in a sad voice.

"What is it?" Ling snapped, regretting her tone as she eyed the young girl.

"I can't find my parents…can you help me find them?" she cried. She let out another sob.

Looking at the girl up and down, Ling couldn't help herself. "Fine…I'll help you look for your parents. But can you help me find someone too? She's wearing a school uniform like mine, so she should be easy to tell," she appealed.

"All right, let's check the other side of the hotel. I've looked through this side already!" the girl quickly said, and before she could protest, the girl snatched Ling's wrist and dragged her through the crowd, making their way around the block to the other side.

* * *

"JULIA! JULIA! WHERE ARE YOU!" Jin yelled. _This is impossible, there's like a million people outside of this hotel alone._ Giving up hope, Jin aimlessly wandered through the crowd, making a half-hearted search effort.

A random man with a notepad in his hand immediately approached him. He wore a white shirt with a collar, a white tie, and his long black hair was tied into a ponytail behind him.

"Young man, you're looking for Julia, right?" he questioned.

"Yes! Yes! Do you know her?" Jin asked excitedly.

"I'm with the police, and I've been searching for lost young kids and bringing them to a point across the street. Hopefully, their parents will find them if they just stand there in one place. Your friend Julia volunteered to watch over the kids while I searched." The police officer flipped through his miniature black notebook.

"Julia…Chang?" the man asked, pointing to Julia's name in his notebook.

"Oh my God! Officer, thank you! Can you take me to her?" Jin spoke a mile a minute.

"Sure, let's go," the police officer beckoned.

They made their way through the crowd and into the other side of the street. There was an equal amount of chaos surrounding this side of the hotel compared to the side Jin and Ling had emerged from. Jin followed the man dutifully. _Thank god you're all right, Julia. I was so worried_ Jin thought in excitement.

Jin and the officer walked across the street, and kept on walking into an area with a relatively empty area. Everyone had gone to see the commotion at the famous Mishima Hotel.

With skepticism finally entering his mind, Jin asked, "Excuse me, sir, are you sure you have the right place? There doesn't seem to be anybody here…"

"All of the children are right in here. I didn't want them to see the chaos surrounding the hotel. I didn't want them to get eager and run away from this location." The man smiled and pointed into an alley.

_Something definitely doesn't feel right. But if Julia is here…_ Jin reasoned, as he made his way into the back of the alley, with the officer following. He saw only four figures at the end of the alley. "Hey…where are the kids?" Jin asked, but he stopped his walk in shock as he made out the figures in the alley.

To his horror, he saw that Ling and Julia's mouths were duct-taped over, making them resort to muffled and pathetic cries. Their hands were also bound behind their backs. A blond man and a short, in comparison, girl, stood over them in surveillance. They smiled as Jin approached.

"What the hell is going on here!" Jin cried, rushing towards his friends. However, before Jin could break into a full run, the officer behind him had grabbed his left arm and with incredible agility, connected his hands together with metal handcuffs in one smooth movement.

"What the fuck!" Jin screamed at the strangers.

"All right boys, let's get out of here!" said the young girl, ignoring Jin.

"Asuka, that's my line…" the blond man said. He took a cellular phone from his front pocket and dialed a number.

"Yoshi, all of us are at rendez-vous point C. We're ready when you are," the man spoke smoothly into the receiver.

After hanging up the phone, the blond man wearing blue unrolled some duct tape and placed it over the protesting Jin's mouth. "We can't have you or any of your friends causing a commotion," said the man.

A nondescript black car pulled up in front of the alley.

"That's our ride. All right boys, let's get out of here," the man said, smiling at the young girl apparently named Asuka. She smiled back at him.

"We haven't got all day, let's go!" Asuka urged the Ling and Julia forward, as Jin was pushed forward by the blond man.

"You may not believe us right now, but—" the accented, blond guy started, but Jin didn't let him finish as he tried to kick his captor.

Easily dodging it, the blond man laughed, "O.K. then, I guess we'll explain later…"

The officer, or rather, the man who Jin thought Jin was an officer, opened the door of the car and pushed a protesting Jin, Ling, and Julia in.

"Should we take off the duct tape now?" asked the long-haired officer as he wriggled into the seat next to the blond man.

"Nah…they might try to get some attention while we're driving. We'll take them to the headquarters. Then we'll explain everything over there." the young girl explained.

"Good plan. You know…I'm starting to wonder whether you needed us, or we needed you!" the blond man joked.

Jin, Ling, and Julia found nothing funny. They looked into each other's eyes with fear, each wondering whether this day was ever going to end.

The car drove down the street and into the horizon, leaving the chaos of the Mishima Hotel behind them.


	9. Sales Pitch

_Note: Hey guys. Sorry for the LONG delay between this chapter and the last. I notice that it has been a little more than a month since the last update. Midterms have been crazy, and I have a couple more coming up. But rest assured that I have definitely not given up on this story, and I do plan to finish it. Please bear with me._

_ And many thanks to all those reviewers out there. You guys are awesome. You guys keep me motivated to write when I should be studying! Hahaha, just kidding. Now on to Chapter 9..._

_

* * *

_

Julia observed her captors carefully. There was a dark board between the back of the car and the front seats, so she couldn't see what was in front of them or their accomplice who drove. _Dammit, how could I fall into such a stupid trap?_ she berated herself. She noticed that the accented man that caught her was peeling an apple. _I wonder how hard I would have to kick his right hand for that knife to fly up and stab his neck…_

Ling observed the young lady as she spread ointment over the gash on her arm. _What the…why are they doing this? Who are these people?_ Ling worried. The girl put the ointment away in her first-aid kit. After some further rummaging, she emerged with a white bandage and began wrapping it around Ling's exposed arm. _This is too weird…first they kidnap us, and now they are treating our wounds? Do crazy murderers usually do this? They probably want all of our pain to come directly from them, and not from some outside source…_ Ling attempted to rationalize, trying to make her mind wander from the dire situation they were in.

The girl finished up, and patted Ling's bandage. "All done," she proclaimed in a friendly tone. She smiled at Ling, and all that Ling could do was look at her in confusion. _Seriously…there's something wrong with these people…_ Ling thought. She tried to show her appreciation by muttering under the tape, but it came out muffled. Ling quickly turned away. _What the hell are you doing? You don't thank your kidnappers!_

To Ling's horror, the girl seemed to understand her unintelligible phrase. "Wow…you said 'Thank you' to a person that has just taken you hostage…you're pretty weird, or stupid, I can't tell," she said off-handedly with the same smile.

_WHAAAAT!_ Ling's mind protested, _You're the one who took the three of us for no apparent reason! And then you give me first-aid while we are stuck in your damn car! What the hell are you talking about! When I get out of here, you're dead, bitch!_

The girl quickly turned to Julia. "All right, I saw the blood down the back of your head at the alley. Turn around and let me take care of it," she requested in a polite tone.

Jin turned to the girl in wonder as Julia turned around in the car. _These people…they really are pieces of work…_ The tape around his mouth started to make his mouth itch as he thought.

Suddenly, the car made one sudden left turn and began to accelerate. The captives were thrown backwards into the seats, while their captors let out a little chuckle.

"Yeah, sorry about that, Yoshi is working on that part of the programming of the car…" the blond, accented man explained as offered his hand to Jin to help him sit upright. Jin struggled, but made his way back into the upright position of his car without the blonde mans assistance. He stared into the accented man's eyes with full, unadulterated hate.

"Nyeh…whatever bro…we're almost there anyway," the accented man said as he continued to eat his apple silently.

"Hey Lei, you want some of this?" the blonde man asked the long-haired man, apparently named Lei, offering his apple. "I'm not going to finish it, I had that awesome duck before the mission. You're cop-buddies would never let you hear the end of it if they found it you were a great cook," the blond-haired man laughed.

Lei, their last captor, shook his head and waved his hand in disgust. "You really need some discipline, Steve. Back in China, we never wasted any food. Eat your damn fruit!" he said with bravado.

Jin looked up in shock. _A cop! This isn't good…kidnapping rings have even infiltrated the police!_

The girl patted the back of Julia's head rather firmly. "All done!" she said victoriously, shuffling back to her seat.

"Just in time, Asuka," the blonde man smirked. "We're here, guys."

The three friends turned their attention away from their captors for once and looked out the windows. They were in very industrialized part of town. There was litter scattered every which way on the roads and sidewalks. Nobody was found outside in the barren street. Towering, empty-looking buildings overlooked them on either side. Even though it was approximately three o'clock in the afternoon, somehow, the sun didn't seem to reach this part of town, making everything instantly darker compared to the warm and inviting environment around the Mishima Hotel.

The car came to a sudden halt in the middle of the street. Once again, Jin, Ling, and Julia weren't ready for the stop, and they were thrown from their seats forwards, towards their captors. The three strangers laughed at them once again as the blonde man opened the door on the right side, allowing room for the girl and Lei the cop to get out.

"Let's go, guys. Time is money, money is time, and I'm flat broke," he beckoned from outside the car.

Jin stood his ground. With a hard expression, he remained seated in the car, without moving a muscle.

_This could get heated…but there isn't anything we can do…_ Julia thought. She nudged Jin gently in the side, encouraging him to go forward. He looked back at her, annoyed. Julia conveyed equal intensity in her expression. Jin non-verbally saw her point, and began shuffling out into the dirty street.

"WHIPPED! Hahahaha!" laughed Asuka as she noticed this exchanged. Losing control of his temper at the comment, Jin broke into a full run towards Asuka.

However, two strong hands held him back before he had even made a step. The cop and the accented blonde man each had a hand in the pit of Jin's elbow, rendering him immobile.

"Damn…this one's a fire cracker!" Asuka laughed again, winking at Jin as she turned and walked toward a run-down building. She beckoned at the others to follow her.

Ling and Julia exited the car without any resistance, trying to assess the situation. The moment Lei closed the door the car immediately took off and drove around the corner to a destination unknown.

Suddenly, as if the situation was more concrete than ever, it was just the six of them, making their way from the dirty street to an equally dirty-looking building. Three of them were teenagers, duct-tape covering their mouths and their hands behind their backs with handcuffs. Another, random teenager was leading them into a creepy, frightful-looking building. Last two members of this group pushed the teenagers clad in dirty school uniforms forward. It perhaps was the strangest scene any of them had ever been a part of.

The girl, Asuka, shoved the door of the building open. _They don't even have locks?_ questioned Ling. The teenagers then entered the run-down building, followed by the remaining two captors.

There was nothing in this building. The room looked huge without any furniture. The walls looked like they were going to collapse any second. Random pieces of paper from old newspapers were found sparsely throughout the large room. The only object of notice was a staircase that led to the next story of the building.

_They are probably as equally as dreary_ thought Julia.

Walking towards the corner of two walls, Asuka continued into the building. Several paces before meeting the wall, she bent down and fumbled with something on the ground. Suddenly, a loud metallic _clank!_ rattled through the building, startling the three teenagers. Asuka lifted latch from the ground, and heaved up the floor from under her.

"Down we go!" she said, a little too enthusiastically for Julia's tastes.

_Underground? Not good…definitely not good_ Ling worried.

Lei and the blonde man urged the trio onward. As they approached the cleverly hidden trapdoor, they peered down inside it. It seemed well-lit, but nobody could see the end of the corridor due to its length. Jin, at the head of the pack, hesitated slightly before entering the trapdoor. This warranted a nudge from the blonde man, and Jin fumbled down the stairs, trying to stop himself from falling down completely. After everybody had entered, Asuka herself stepped onto the stairs and closed the trapdoor shut. Another metallic _clank!_ emanated throughout the staircase

Jin, Ling, and Julia made their way down the foreign, unfamiliar steps, not knowing what was in front of them. After what seemed like an eternity, the group finally reached a landing. At the end of the hall was a large, metallic door. _This looks like this is it_ thought Jin. _This must be the last stop._

Asuka quickened her step to pass the rest of the group. She twisted the oddly-shaped knob on the door and pulled at it. The door opened, and bright white light poured into the hallway to reveal a rather large room. The room had a panel of computers in the far end, each displaying a different view of some street. Julia recognized the street as the one in front of the building they were under. The tile on the floor was another off-white color, as if promoting sterility. Electrical equipment was littered on different tables in the middle of the room. Julia didn't recognize all of this technology, with all of their cords and microphones and monitors and electrical plugs. The fluorescent lighting made this large room look like a laboratory of some sort.

As they entered, they noticed a man in a strange, silver armor sitting in a chair, facing a computer. The man stopped typing and looked up at the visitors. Ling was initially frightened by his odd appearance. The helmet that covered his entire head took the shape of some unearthly skull. He also had a scabbard on his left hip, with what seemed like a hilt of a sword protruding from its head. However, Ling had never such a sword before, making her even more uneasy.

"Hey Yoshi, you really need to get that bug in the car's automated driving system fixed. It caused our guests to be _very_ uncomfortable on the ride here," the blonde man said. "Anything good happen while we were gone?"

The silver armored man let out a mechanical grumble. However, despite speaking in an unintelligible language, Julia, Ling, and Jin understood every word he said.

"_Nothing of interest appeared on the surveillance cameras. None of the phone taps brought up anything notable either,"_ a deep voice rang in their brains.

_What the hell!_ thought Jin, his expression was incredulous. He searched wildly for the source of the voice. For a split second, Jin's eyes met with Ling's frantic eyes. She also seemed noticeably rattled. At that moment, it dawned on him that the voice could only be from one person: the strange silver-armored man.

"Uh oh…these guys look like they are going to hurl or something…" observed Asuka, "what's wrong?"

"I'm guessing it is Yoshimitsu," said Lei, the cop. "You see, guys, Yoshimitsu has an automated translator in his suit which allows us to understand him, even though it sounds like he isn't speaking at all. So while you may hear just noise when he speaks, your eardrums receive it as regular, normal speech," he tried to explain.

Julia only sighed in confusion and frustration.

"Seriously…where are my freakin' manners!" the blonde man exclaimed. "My name is Steve. Steve Fox. Nice to meet ya. This spunky young ball of fire is Asuka," Asuka waved at the three. "And this here is Lei, super-cop extraordinaire. Back at home base here is Yoshimitsu, our resident ninja of the group, and the brains of the entire thing." The blonde man named Steve sighed. "And I believe I already know your names. You must be Jin." Steve made direct eye contact with him, making Jin feel uncomfortable. He then turned his attention to Julia. "Hello Ling," Steve said. He turned his head towards a confused Ling, he greeted, "Good afternoon, Julia." They all tried to protest as their names were called out, but the tape once again muffled their cries.

"Maybe this would be a more inviting atmosphere if we took off the tape and handcuffs?" suggested Lei.

"Haha, I think you're right," replied Asuka, as she made her way over the trio. She scratched at Jin's cheek trying to get the edge of the tape. As soon as she had a fingertip's worth of tape between her thumb and forefinger, she pulled quickly. Jin grimaced in pain.

_Asuka…_ Jin stared intently at the girl. _For some strange reason, I feel like we have met somewhere..._

Asuka made her way over to the girls and ripped off the tape from their mouths with equal ferocity. Ling yelped as the tape separated from her lips.

Lei fumbled his pockets for the keys to the handcuffs. He clutched them in his hand and walked toward them, but Steve blocked his way with his left arm.

"Whoa whoa…calm down now," Steve smiled. "Why don't we explain our situation first, and then see if they will cooperate with us?"

"We'd never cooperate!" Julia snarled, looking around the room frantically for a quick exit.

"Ehh…after you hear this sob story, I wouldn't be too sure about that. And I wouldn't try to go anywhere…this place is wired to the core," Asuka replied tartly.

"All right, here it goes. This is the sales pitch: we want you guys to help us take down the Mishima Zaibatsu," Steve began.

"WHA!" Ling yelled in surprise. "OK, I thought you guys were crazy when you kidnapped us…but now I KNOW you're crazy! Asking three random kids…this is insane. What makes you think we can help you? What makes you think that we would want to help you? This is insane! Just let us out of here, and we'll all be on our way! I swear…none of us will tell anybody about this little…thing…you have and your plans and other crap…just let us out!" Ling finished her tirade, breathing heavily.

There was a moment of silence between the two parties. Steve finally broke the awkwardness, "Oh god…this one is a noisy one. But that can be easily fixed…" He took some more tape from a nearby table and pressed a strip firmly over the protesting Ling's lips.

"That's better…much better," Steve mocked. Asuka chuckled, while Ling stared at them intensely. "Now, I'll continue, unless you two need to get something off of your chest."

Julia cast her eyes down, unresponsive. Jin listened intently to Steve, with a contorted face of anger.

"All right then. So, as I was saying, we want you guys to help us ruin the Zaibatsu. And contrary to what Little Miss Loud said, we did not pick you three at random. We know that you, Jin, have a really deep inside connection to the organization. We have tapped almost all phones that are in any way affiliated with the Zaibatsu. We heard some goon reserving the penthouse suite of the Hotel for three, one of them being the CEO's grandson. We then staked out the hotel, looking for three kids, hoping to take them home with us. That fire alarm was the perfect distraction and extremely lucky for us, but I swear we didn't do it. We didn't even think of it."

Julia hesitated for a moment, flashing back to their fight in the penthouse and her race down the fire escape. _That means…they don't know about those strangers who attacked us…and their boss…_

"Why do you want to ruin the Zaibatsu? They are doing really good work in finding cures for various diseases wrecking havoc on the world…and Jin is the CEO's grandson, so why would you expect us to help you?" Julia asked as her voice escalated, losing her composure.

"Well, I tried to avoid revealing this, but we all knew it was inevitable. While it may seem that they are doing good work on the surface, every company has its dark secrets. And these secrets…sheesh…they are a doozy," Steve continued.

"How so?" asked Julia. She glanced over at Jin to see how he was taking the news. He seemed despondent, staring intently at Steve with a seemingly unreadable expression.

"You don't need to know that…just know that they are bad," Steve waved his hand at the question.

"No, tell us. If you ever expect us to cooperate, we need to tell us what we are getting into," Julia demanded.

"Little girl, you really need to know your place. We're the ones in charge here," Steve chuckled.

"She's right. Tell us. Or you might as well kill us. You'll lose your only connection to the Zaibatsu, and probably your biggest opportunity to strike," Jin finally broke his silence. He stared resolutely in Jin's eyes.

As Asuka looked back at him, she could feel the tension between her friend Steve and this newcomer.

"OK fine…I guess I have no choice," Steve continued, with a slight hint of annoyance in his voice. "We'll start off with the illegal testing of pharmaceuticals on animals. If this were ever exposed to the media, the Zaibatsu's stock would plummet in a matter of minutes. The Zaibatsu single-handedly funds the poaching and capturing of endangered wildlife to test their drugs on."

"That's horrible…" muttered Julia.

"That is horrible, but is that it? Just the animals?" Jin asked dubiously. His voice was shaky. He knew that this wasn't the worst of them, and he also knew that he probably didn't want to know the answer to the question he just asked. _Ignorance is most definitely bliss_.

"Well, no, but are you convinced yet? Will you help us?" Steve asked.

"Hell no. Tell me more," Jin commanded.

Lei started to get annoyed. "We really need your help. I know that this is very sudden, but believe us, the Zaibatsu must be taken down."

"_They caused social unrest and civil war within my clan, destroying it in a matter of days,"_ the mysterious Yoshimitsu grumbled.

"Heihachi Mishima hired a hitman to kill my father!" Asuka's voice rang throughout the room.

"I have been investigating their misdeeds for about four years, and they definitely have a handle on illegal operations and business malpractice," Lei's soothing, calm voice continued, "All we need is that conclusive proof. And we think that you can help us get that proof."

"I don't believe you. You're all lying. You just want to ruin the company for some obscure, arcane reason. I've only talked to him a couple of times, but my grandfather is a good man. He wouldn't do all that crap that you guys have said," Jin protested. However, the voices in his head betrayed the strength behind his voice. _Dammit, how can it get worse? _ he thought.

"Yeah! Mr. Mishima allowed us to stay in the most expensive place around town, and Jin said that he seemed really excited to hear from his grandson. He seems like such a nice old man," Julia came to Jin's defense.

"Get your asses out of that ivory tower," Steve retorted, "Not everything is black and white like you kids see it; not everything is what they seem. Heihachi Mishima is a bad person. I don't care if he is your grandfather; he is an evil man."

"Whatever you say, these are just words. I don't believe one word out of your goddamn mouths," Jin said angrily. _Oh god...my mom…remember what she said? The Zaibatsu was…_

"Fine, kid. You win. You really want to know why we are after them?" Steve's voice sounded like Jin had offended every last fiber of his being. "We've done extensive recon on the Mishimas. Here is the truth--"

"_Steve, wait. Are you sure we should tell them everything so suddenly? They've been here for only about ten minutes. We've been working on this case for a long time."_ Yoshimitsu's voice rang throughout their heads. Julia felt a chill go down her spine as the modern-day ninja spoke.

"Yoshi, these goddamn kids aren't giving us much of a choice, and it is _imperative_ that they cooperate with us. Anyway, the Zaibatsu is engineering biocybernetic humans. You want to know how? Since you're so goddamn curious, you don't even have to ask. I'll tell you. Behind the façade of 'happy, do-well pharmaceutical company', they have some extremely, _extremely_ shady business. We've discovered that approximately twenty-seven years ago, they began experimenting and creating the perfect guinea pig for their own purposes. Their little puppet was supposed to do anything for them. It was supposed to live without free will. Its only purpose was to do Heihachi Mishima's bidding. However, their project proved to be a failure, and they then decided to halt their experiments. Only about five years ago have they pursued this research again. And, from what we have gathered, they have been getting closer and closer to the perfect soldier. It will only be a matter of time until their scientists hit the nail right on the head." Steve sighed as he regained his composure and took a swig from the pocket flask that nobody had noticed that was in his hand.

"You guys are fuckin' mad," Jin snarled tartly.

"Dammit, Jin, it's true!" Asuka interrupted. "The Zaibatsu send out their underlings to challenge the best fighters in the world. They want prime DNA samples to make their soldier, so that whatever creature they make is unbeatable. If their underlings lose, then it just proves that their blood samples are among the best to create the perfect soldier, so they just send more to overpower their test subject. That's why they have been attacking dojos around the world. Haven't you seen those dojo attacks on the news? That's why they attacked my dad," Asuka finished. Her plead seemed to recharge her fervor.

"I'm the head of the investigation on the Zaibatsu back in China, and the pattern of the attacks on these dojos Asuka mentioned weren't random. They all point back to the Zaibatsu, which lead me this little ragtag group of revolutionaries," Lei explained smoothly. Yoshimitsu nodded at Lei's words.

Suddenly, a pathetic clapping sound came from nowhere. It took a moment for the group to realize that it was Jin who was applauding with his handcuffed hands. "Excellent performance, guys. Really, well done. Good job. While you have proven nothing, _absolutely nothing_ of what you just said, you have succeeded in proving that you all belong in the crazy bin." Jin let out a creepy, slow laugh that startled Ling and Julia.

_Why in the hell is he laughing in a time like this?_ Ling thought. _While this does sound farfetched, why would these four people lie?_

"You need proof, asshole? Here's your fuckin' proof," Steve screamed at the three with fierce intensity, making them all cringe. He unbuttoned his shirt and threw it on the nearby table. "I didn't get this by falling off my bike as a kid," he snarled.

Julia looked on in horror as a long scar covered Steve's muscular left arm. It traveled from his shoulder all the way down the length of his forearm. It looked like as if somebody had intentionally tore his flesh open in the same lines repeatedly for a long time.

"Remember how I said that they began this project around twenty-seven years ago? Well…I probably forgot to mention that I am 25. They spent two years in rushed research on the animals we first told you about, and then immediately tried to make a prototype 'perfect' soldier. And I was the result. Obviously, though, there was something wrong." Steve paused. Everyone present took this as a signal to glance at Steve's scarred arm again.

"After realizing errors in their experiments…their errors in me…I went through surgery after surgery after surgery on this arm. They opened it up more times than I can count to try to find out what happened…the pain would cause most people to just drop down dead. They extracted liters of blood from me in the span of a few short years for their next round of experiments. You know, in case they ever decided to begin this research again. Then…they tried to off me. But I escaped with some sheer luck and my superior physical strength. At least they did one thing right…" Steve snorted out a short, insincere laugh. "We've only recently found out that they have, in fact, started the experiments again. Now I have devoted my life to take down the Zaibatsu, for all that they have done to me, Asuka, Yoshimitsu, Lei, and countless others. I don't know what they'll do with their perfect soldier, but I guarantee you it won't be to find a cure for cancer. Not after what I've been through…" Steve grabbed his shirt from the table and put it over his back. He sat on the table, burying his head in his hands, casting his eyes downward.

An awkward silence permeated through the room. Ling tried to process the information that Steve had just told them. She looked over at the four in shock. _This can't be true…it just can't be…it is impossible…making people in a lab? Impossible…_

Julia looked away from the group. She blinked away a small tear that had formed in the corner of her eye. _These people must really be serious…oh my god…poor Steve…_

Jin closed his eyes. _If this is true, Grandpa…no…Heihachi, what the hell have you been doing my entire life? Is this why you have kept your distance? I want to trust in you…but…if this is true, this must have been what my mother was talking about…_

Asuka stared at Steve and his arm. She then returned her gaze back to Jin, Ling, and Julia._ This HAS to work. It just has to.  
_

Jin opened his eyes and stared at the four people across from him. "I'm still not sure if I believe you guys," he started.

Asuka groaned loudly in annoyance.

"But," Jin continued, "I want to see what you guys have come up with. I'm not saying I'm fully convinced. I'm not saying I'm convinced at all. But I want to see what you have on Heihachi. I definitely want to see where this is going."

"Me too." Julia interjected.

Ling nodded in agreement fervently, the tape over her mouth making her mouth itch more.

Asuka yelled in excitement, "Oh fuck yeah! This is definitely a start!" She jumped into the air.

Lei smiled at her enthusiasm. He leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms. "You know, a little girl like you shouldn't be using that kind of language…" he cautioned. Asuka let out a smile that went from ear to ear. Yoshimitsu nodded his head slightly in approval, and returned to his chair and began typing at the computer console in front of him.

"Well…what the hell are we waiting for?" Steve jumped off from the table and began to slip his shirt back on. "Let's get this bitch started…"


	10. In Due Time

**Note: Allow me to say, I'M SORRY. I recently switched computers, and as I was looking through my old computer yesterday, I saw my old chapters and immediately felt the urge to write. I will complete this story, and with summer here, the future looks bright. Please stick around, hopefully I'll finish this in a timely manner. Thanks for all your support. Feel free to leave a review to let me know how you feel about the story.**

"So…do you mind if I ask you a question?" Ling asked tentatively.

"Shoot," Asuka replied, waving a welcoming hand.

Asuka was escorting Ling down a hallway. The corridor reflected the design of the laboratory they had just left. Fluorescent lighting always made Ling nervous for some reason. She noticed that Asuka seemed to have lightened up, considering the heated confrontation they just had ten minutes ago.

"How old are you?" Ling quickly asked.

"Sixteen…why?"

"Ahhh! I was outsmarted by a kid!" Ling hit her forehead with the palm of her hand.

"Whaaaat! I'm not a kid! Don't underestimate me!" Asuka retorted.

"I was just kidding…I'm only seventeen." Ling punched Asuka lightly in the shoulder.

"Oh…hehe…no hard feelings, though, right?" Asuka awkwardly asked. Suddenly, the footsteps of their shoes hitting the tile rang through her ears as she turned a faint red.

"'Course not. I already like you. Steve was right when he said you were a young ball of fire. Sometimes, I feel like that description could apply to me," Ling flashed a smile.

"Hehe...I could see that in you. Well…anyway we are here," Asuka pointed at the door.

"All right then, thanks!" Ling quickly opened the door and slipped inside. Asuka stood outside until the little green "Vacant" placard switched to the familiar, red "Occupied" sign.

_That girl…_ Asuka smiled inwardly. She turned around and walked back toward the others in the lab.

* * *

"I have a question," Julia raised her hand slightly. She noticed a red band around her wrist from the extended amount of time in handcuffs. She quickly put her hand down and rubbed her left wrist with her right hand. "You know all this bad stuff about the Zaibatsu. Why don't you guys just go to the nearest reporter who will listen for two seconds and kill them that way?"

"We've thought about that. That was probably the stupidest idea any of us has ever come up with," Steve chortled.

_Damn…that guy is really condescending_ Julia averted her eyes, trying to hide her embarrassment.

Lei shot a dirty look at Steve. "Steve, sometimes you're really annoying. Anyway, to answer your question, we haven't gone public with this because, first of all, who would believe us? I'm an old, worn out cop. They assigned me to investigate the Zaibatsu because everybody thinks that the Zaibatsu's record is as clean as a whistle. When I approached the proper authorities about what I found out about them by myself, I became the laughing stock of the department. Nobody would take Steve seriously; looks like he could be a hitman on "The Sopranos". And Asuka's just a kid. And don't get me started with Yoshimitsu…" Lei folded his arms and smirked. "Plus, we want to get out of this with our lives. If we did go public, more than likely, a hit would be put out on all of our heads. And that, my friend, would be a sucky way to die."

"Also, the Zaibatsu has got their claws in every person in a position of power internationally. Nobody's got the guts to face this giant," Steve added.

"And I want to kick that Feng Wei's ass myself." Asuka familiar voice rang as she reentered the lab.

"Feng Wei? Was that the guy who almost killed your dad?" Julia turned around to face the approaching Asuka.

"Yeah. Steve, Lei, and Yoshi have given me all the information they have on him. He doesn't seem too tough," Asuka said coolly as she began to crack her knuckles.

"I wouldn't bet money on that fight…" Steve whispered into the part of Yoshimitsu's helmet that should house his left ear.

Asuka's left eye twitched as she overheard Steve. She quickly grabbed a random object from a nearby table. "Hey, Steve?" her voice rang throughout the lab.

"Eh?" Steve turn around to face Asuka. Suddenly, a dark mass hurtled through the air and struck him square on the forehead.

"SHIT!" Steve screamed in pain, clutching his forehead with both of his hands. "Ah…damn…what the hell!" Steve heard the small _clank_ as the object fell to the floor.

"That's what you get, asshole!" Asuka's voice rang throughout the room. Laughter exploded from Lei, Yoshimitsu, and their two guests present.

Steve laid his eyes upon the ground, searching for the object. It had rolled about half a meter to his left. A lone Duracell AA battery continued its slow path to the opposite wall.

"Dammit, Asuka! Get serious!" Steve yelled. As he lifted his head, Asuka exploded in laughter and pointed a finger at his forehead. A red blotch had emerged dead center on his forehead.

"Very very funny…" Steve rubbed his forehead, trying to erase the mark with his fingers without result.

"Compelling entertainment…" Ling's sarcastic voice sounded as if she was a mile away.

"So you're done with your date with the toilet? Took you long enough…" Steve tried to shift as much attention off him as possible. It worked; color emerged on Ling's fair cheeks.

"Guys…seriously…can we get started? Please? Time is money, money is time, and I'm flat broke," Lei attempted to convey the gravity of the situation with the serious tone in his voice.

"Why does everybody steal my lines? Does an original thought ever enter your minds?" Steve smiled.

"_Everybody, please be quiet. It's time to talk,"_ Yoshimitsu's translator permeated throughout their minds.

"O.K., here we are," Lei beckoned to the group as he approached the closest table, with a white scroll under his armpit. With an efficient swoop of his right arm, he cleared half of the table and placed the scroll on the table, unrolling it fully. The other side of the scroll was blue, with a seemingly random smattering of fine, white lines. Pencil marks were found throughout the scroll, noting places of interest.

"Blueprints…is this the Mishima Zaibatsu headquarters?" Julia asked as she held down one end of the scroll.

Lei placed a random camera on the bottom left corner of the blueprints to prevent it from rolling up again. "Yup. This is only the first twenty floors, though. I have a couple more blueprints in my room." Lei excused himself again and walked out of the laboratory.

"Wow…how did you manage to get these?" Ling was amazed at the detail.

"Nyeeeeh…don't worry about that right now, darling, " Steve winked.

Just as Ling was about to say something, she looked at Jin from across the table. His serious face was unreadable. _What are you thinking? This must be hard for him…_

"_Well, I suppose I can explain this now. We have it on good information that the Mishima Zaibatsu has a secret laboratory where they do these experiments Steve discussed earlier. Our recent…for the lack of a better term, research…has lead us to believe that it is somewhere in this very Zaibatsu building."_ Yoshimitsu explained, jabbing the blueprints with his left index finger.

_I don't think I'll ever get used to that…man's…speech_ Ling sighed

"Wait...Steve, you don't know where…umm…those things…happened to you?" Julia tentatively asked. She knew she was treading sensitive waters.

Steve shook his head, "Their initial experiments…their experiments on me…are still a little hazy. What I told you guys earlier was pieced together from my fragmented memory and the intel Yoshi and Lei have gathered."

"Somebody say my name?" Lei approached the table with two more sets of blueprints under one arm.

"Nah…it was nothing," Asuka chirped in.

"Well…okay, can you guys make some room for these?" Lei requested politely.

Steve eyed all of the remaining debris on the table. "Lemme just pull up another table…that would take less time I think," he chuckled as he strolled to the next table.

Lei unrolled the extra two sets of blueprints; three sets of blueprints next to each other across two tables. They were all intricately designed and very professional looking. As Ling pored her eyes over these important documents, she realized that she understood nothing about blueprints. _What does this little line mean? How about this squiggly?_ Ling scratched her chin in confusion.

Lei cleared his throat. "All right, newcomers. I'll explain everything. Feel free to interrupt for questions. Do you have any right now?" Lei's eyes searched Julia, Ling and Jin for any response.

"No? All right, well, here we go. We need proof that conclusively incriminates the Mishima Zaibatsu for their unethical experiments. As of right now, we can only assume that this conclusive proof lies in two places: either in Heihachi Mishima's office or their main laboratory. Assuming that their main laboratory is somewhere hidden in the Zaibatsu's headquarters, we have two chances to get this proof in one fell swoop. And if…and this is a big "if"…we can get experimental proof and prove that Heihachi Mishima green-lighted these experiments, then for sure this company is going down, and Mishima is going to take a nice vacation in a high-security federal prison. You following so far?" Lei took a sudden and uncharacteristic pause during his spiel.

"No, please go on," Julia urged. Ling simply shook her head, while Jin did not respond at all.

"OK, I'll move on. So this means that in our infiltration effort, we need to split into three groups. One group will try to get into Mishima's office and get what we need, and get out undetected. The second group will try to locate this laboratory, if it exists –"

"And it does exist, and I know whole-heartedly it does," Asuka interjected.

Lei grinned at the young girl, "Yes…but we can only hope I suppose. Anyway, yeah, the second group has to find the laboratory, infiltrate it, get the evidence we need, and get out safely."

"Sounds complicated…" Julia interrupted.

"Yes, and there is danger in this mission. A fair amount of danger, indeed. And I can't speak for everyone here, but I think that it is worth it." Lei said with a firm voice.

"_Absolutely,"_ Yoshimitsu agreed.

"You took the words right out of my mouth," Asuka chimed in.

Julia looked at the faces of her new comrades. _Jeez…these guys are serious. What the hell have I gotten myself into?_ She quickly pushed the negative thought to the back of her mind.

Lei coughed in his hand. "Continuing on, the third group's primary task is to serve as a lookout for the other two active groups. Their secondary task, if it were to come to it, is to support the two active groups as their backup if anything…happened…to one of our own. Basically, they will have a more inactive role in this caper." He stopped, trying to formulate the next idea in his head. "But…there is one problem with our plan…"

"We have no idea how to get into the Mishima's office," Steve finished, pointing at the top-left most box on the third set of blueprints, "without getting caught. Security is tight, as any of us would expect."

"Umm…take that statement, multiply that by 100, and you only start to get the idea of the trouble with the lab. We don't even know where it _is,_" Asuka continued.

Julia perked up. "We actually can help with your first problem." Everyone looked at her incredulously, even Ling and Jin.

"Uhh…we can?" Ling asked tentatively.

"Saturday…" Jin muttered under his breath. _That Julia…she's a quick one._ He smirked at Julia, and it finally seemed that he was actively paying attention to the round table conversation they were having.

"We're here to meet with Heihachi. He's going to give us a tour of the Zaibatsu. It's…for a school project," Julia finished pathetically. _Might as well go with the alibi that worked with Heihachi_ she rationalized.

Steve eyed Jin, "Now I get it, the grandson needed a favor...for schoolwork, no less…and so Heihachi decides to pull out all the stops…"

"Will you guys be able to get into his office!" Asuka asked excitedly. She pounded her fists on the table, demanding an answer.

"Umm…I don't know…" Julia replied, silently asking either of her schoolmates for assistance with a desperate look in her eyes.

It was Ling who answered the call, "I suppose we can try…"

"_You can't just 'try'. It is imperative that you DO." _Yoshimitsu pushed on.

"Umm…I don't think that any of us can make any guarantees. I'm not sure if Heihachi would let anybody else, even his grandson, in his office alone for the amount of time it would take to find and retrieve this information," Ling sighed. _They are laying it on a bit thick….I'm not sure if we are up to this._

As if Jin had read the doubt in Ling's mind, he replied curtly, "We'll do it."

Everybody turned their heads toward the young man, all surprised at his sudden entrance into the conversation. Ling stared at him, shocked. _What the hell…what are you thinking, Jin?_

"Heh…you say that as if you had a choice…" Steve chuckled with a hint of arrogance.

Jin's ears twitched in annoyance. "Since we have the 'in' that you guys need, that means that we are going to do this in our terms. That means that we don't answer to you guys, and we do what we see fit to get this data that you think exists."

Julia smiled at Jin. _Good thinking Jin. We definitely have enough to worry about without these people breathing down our necks._ Julia shuddered as she recalled their collective vision in the forest. _That happened only several hours ago…it seems like this day started years ago._

Steve looked over at Lei for approval. There was a disapproving look on the cop's face, but he nodded slightly. Steve looked over at Yoshimitsu, and nodded again. Ling eyed them, puzzled. _Apparantly, Mr. Cyborg Guy can choose which minds his voice enters. He is so creepy._

Lei broke their momentary silence, "I suppose that will work for us. But it is agreed that you will try to get _that_ information for us, right?"

Jin replied coolly, "Of course. You can trust us three. I'm as curious as you guys about my grandfather's alleged activity, if not more so." He folded his arms, leaning on the table.

Asuka was a little taken aback by the boy's sudden "take-charge" attitude of the situation. _He might definitely be troublesome later on… _she worried. Still, she knew they would be just where they started at the beginning of the day -- stuck and helpless – without the help of these three.

Lei sighed, "Well…planning this is exhausting, but I suppose this is all what we signed up for. So…I suppose we have one group already formed by default. Jin, Julia, and Asuka will meet with Heihachi Mishima as per their appointment, trying to worm their way into his office to get the evidence. I would also like to suggest that Yoshimitsu and I look for the laboratory, while Ling and Steve are on call for either of us."

"Hey! Why am I not with Jin and Julia! Heihachi is expecting the three of us!" Ling exploded.

"From what I gather, Ling, Heihachi is expecting Jin and two _friends_, it doesn't matter if one of them is Asuka or you. And…uhh…never mind…" Lei finished pathetically, quickly averting his eyes away from Ling.

"And…what?" Ling urged, gritting her teeth.

"Well…it's just that…you seem more…how should I say…_delicate_ than Asuka…" Lei fumbled to find the right words to spare Ling's feelings.

Ling paused as she took in his words. Suddenly, without any previous indication, she lept on the table, in an attempt for the police officer's neck. The various electronic devices on the table fell to the ground as she swept around the table. Her ferocious eyes betrayed her intense anger. "You…mother fu…" she screamed just before she was peeled off from the table by Julia and Asuka. Ling's feet touched the ground, she struggled against the two girls who restrained her. She snarled at the man at the opposite side of the table. "Let go of me!" she screamed, her nostrils flaring.

Lei smoothed out the wrinkles in the blueprints that Ling had made. "I'm sorry Ling. You obviously proved me wrong, I suppose," he laughed.

Jin looked at Lei sideways. "Ling's coming with us. Asuka can be with Steve," he stated flatly.

"But.." Lei's voice trailed off. As soon as he saw the expression on Jin's face; the hard, resolute, matter-of-factly stoicism, Lei knew he could potentially be playing with fire. But this fire had the potential to ruin their entire plan.

"I suppose that'll work," Lei replied, "if that's O.K. with you, Asuka."

"Sure. I don't care where I am, as long as I can be helpful," Asuka strained as he held the still-resistant Ling back.

"Are the groups O.K. with you two?" Lei asked.

"_I believe this is the best configuration,_" Yoshimitsu politely replied.

"Nyeh, whatever," Steve seemed distracted.

Ling finally straightened herself out. "All right, all right. I'm fine. I'm calm. You can let me go now," Ling muttered. The grasp on her arms finally loosened as she tried to compose herself. Her cheeks were flushed with red hot blood. She quickly looked down and straightened out her school skirt, trying to buy time until the color left her face. She silently thanked Jin for standing up for her in a more effective way.

Lei finally continued their long palaver, "All right, now that we have that settled to the best of our abilities, I'll go over our plan of entry. Since we know how Jin's group is getting into the office, we'll need to go over how Yoshimitsu and I find the lab, and where Asuka and Steve will be. First, I'll enter alone through this door…"

* * *

"Phew…that took way too long…" Julia stretched her arms as she, Jin, and Ling walked side by side.

They had gone over their plan of entry for the past four hours. Apparantly, Lei and Yoshimitsu would fan out, trying to find any information on the location of the laboratory by any means necessary. Asuka and Steve would take a more observant role, reporting any strange activity that may be characteristic of the Zaibatsu laboratory to Lei and Yoshimitsu. Once one of them found a promising lead, they would contact the other and then proceed together with the utmost care. Once they found the laboratory, Asuka and Steve would position themselves closer to the entrance, in preparation for any contingency. All seven of them would be in contact with radio communicators.

"This is the right way, right?" Jin asked, looking around the hallway they were walking through.

"Yeah…we take two lefts, and our rooms are the first two on the right. I guess it is you in one room and Ling and me in the other," Julia looked over at her new roommate. "Ling…what's wrong?"

"I don't trust that Lei character…" Ling flatly stated out of the blue.

"Bah! Come off it! He probably didn't mean it like that. Even if he did, you definitely showed him how to not judge a book by its cover. And everything worked out in the end, right?" Julia urged.

"I guess…" Ling said pathetically. _That guy…he's still a little funny. A little too funny for my tastes…_

"We're here," Jin voice pierced through Ling's mind, interrupting her thoughts.

Julia opened the closest gray door to the right, and there were two beds in the room. Two sets of new clothes were laid neatly on the foot of the bed. On the left bed were dark blue jeans with a red, sleeveless top. On the opposite bed was a long, red skirt with a light blue T-shirt.

"Wow…this room is slightly less depressing than a jail cell…" Julia quietly said as she tried to flip on the broken light switch.

"I guess men's clothes will be in your room…" Ling sighed, as she placed the red top against her body.

Suddenly, Asuka poked her head into the room. "Hopefully those fit you guys…although they probably won't…" Asuka offered, noticing the height difference between herself, Ling, and Julia. "We have a couple of days until Saturday, so you guys can shop around for some proper clothes tomorrow."

"Thanks, Asuka," Julia smiled.

"Yeah, thank you," Ling robotically repeated.

"No problem. Oh, and Jin, Steve left some spare clothes in the next room over," Asuka through the left wall.

"Thanks," Jin grinned, trying to be nice.

"Well…I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow…" Asuka faded away.

"See ya," the three all said in tandem as Asuka exited the room and walked down the hall.

Julia closed the door behind Asuka, ensuring privacy in the dark room. "So you guys are up to this?"

"We are here for a reason…and we need to know what Heihachi is doing with these experiments," Jin's deep voice resonated throughout the room.

"I really don't think we could back out now…" Ling added, "we're already in too deep."

"Hmm…" Julia scratched her chin.

"What's up?" Jin eyed her.

"I just thought of one problem…" she with a worried tone.

"What is it?" Ling found Julia's sudden attitude troubling.

"It is already 7:30…school let out three hours ago, and our parents must be getting suspicious." Julia slowly said.

"Oh crap! Grandpa is going to kill me! Where's the nearest phone?" Ling ran out of the room.

"Wait! Ling! We need to think of an excuse that will pardon us for the next three days!" Julia chased after her.

* * *

"Simple mission, correct?" the old man in the expensive-looking tuxedo said.

"It seems like a cakewalk," the middle-aged Japanese man standing in front of the desk replied smoothly. He himself was wearing a black tuxedo, with his red tie providing an aesthetically-pleasing contrast.

Suddenly, the large main door of the intricately decorated office burst open. "Daddy? What's this I hear about a new mission for our task force?" a girl's shrill voice permeated throughout the room. Her white, knee high boots made a distinctive _clank_ sound as she took each step on the tile.

The Japanese man chuckled as the old man fumbled for words. "Oh? It's nothing, honey. I thought you were going to the gym to train?" he pathetically asked.

"I was, until I heard of _this_. Please, let me go! I have a fighter's spirit! And you always tell me that the fighter's spirit is needed to be a successor to the G-Corporation. Let me prove it to you pleeeeeeeeeease? You said yourself that it was a simple mission!" the girl pleaded as she made her way to her father, with her long, blonde, fair hair flowing behind her.

"Bah…you were listening in again…" the old man shook his head.

"Pleeeeeeease daddy! Pleeeeease! You said it was safe!" the girl pleaded in a baby voice as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I meant that it would be safe for our premier task force, not for a sixteen year old girl! And _especially_ not my daughter, heir to the blood, sweat, and tears that I have worked for all my life!" the old man argued.

"Blood…sweat…tears? Eww…daddy. That's nasty…anyway, Kazuya will keep me safe! He's the leader of your premier task force! PLEEEEEEASE!" the blonde girl continued pleading in her shrill voice.

"This is my final answer, Lili. No! You will _not_ go on this mission. You won't go on any mission…ever. You're too precious." the old man breathed out.

The girl named Lili's eyes flashed, and suddenly, she was holding her father's head in a submission hold, twisting his neck into a very unnatural position

"What did you say, father?" she asked playfully.

The old man gasped for air. "Ack…Li..li…let go…please," the old man heaved.

"What did you say?" she repeated, tightening her grip.

"Fine…go!" his voice strained.

"That sounds better," she joked, letting go of her father's head.

The old man rubbed his neck, gasping for air. He lifted his head just in time to see the Japanese man and his daughter walk out of the door of the office.

Outside of the office, a hyperactive Lili ran circles around the Japanese man.

"So what's the mission?" she repeatedly asked. "Is that the mission dossier?" she pointed at the black leather folder in the man's arm. He only grinned at her.

She quickly snatched it out of his arm and read through the mission overview. " 'Gather your team and retrieve Mishima Zaibatsu's research data on biocybernetic human development.' It sounds so stuffy and formal…"

Finally, something clicked in Lili's mind. "Mishima Zaibatsu…isn't your last name 'Mishima', Kazuya? Do you have any connection with them?"

The Japanese man named Kazuya smiled at her. "Some might say I do," he simply stated.

Lili expressed disgust as Kazuya faced her. "Your fake red eye creep me out, Kazuya…" she turned her attention back to the dossier. "So what's the first order of business?" Lili enthusiastically asked. "How can I help?" she added quickly.

"Well," Kazuya began, "I'll gather my team and discuss the mission logistics with them." He took the mission dossier back from Lili. "You can set up a jet to take us to Japan tomorrow."

"Oh awesome! We can take my private plane!" Lili ran off excitedly.

Kazuya watched as Lili ran away. _It looks like we're going to be reunited, Father. That's good. We're due for another reunion. We need to work out our problems…_ Kazuya's evil grin covered his face as he cracked his knuckles. _In due time…in due time._


	11. Infiltration

A ten-year old Jin walked around the familiar forest. "What I would give to live here again…" Jin thought aloud, trying to find a response within the trees. Nothing responded, except the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves.

Jin approached a nearby fallen log and sat on it. He looked at his hands, wondering what to do next. He heard a noise behind him. _Probably a squirrel_ he thought. When he turned towards the noise, his jaw dropped to see the entire forest behind him burnt down. The barren wasteland that had suddenly appeared made him feel nauseous. The dark sky betrayed the sense of tranquility and peace this place once had. He quickly turned around again, and he saw the entire forest around him burned down. Jin fell off of the log in shock, not realizing that he was inching his way towards the edge of his seat. As he fell to the ground, he thought he heard a whisper.

The smooth voice said, "_This is your destiny."_

He landed on the ruined ground with a _thud!_ He tried to get up and gain his bearings, but he realized he couldn't. Try as he might, his body would not leave the ground. "What the hell is happening!" he screamed, his voice unheard in the empty wasteland. He could only look upward, and a blood-red moon set in the black sky. No stars were littered throughout the sky. When Jin was around this age, his mother liked to bring him outside and show him constellations she knew while sharing watermelon slices. Looking at the emptiness of this unfamiliar sky made him uneasy and tense. He blinked his eyes, pushing away the sweat that threatened to sting them.

When Jin opened his eyes, he saw the familiar blue sky and the various canopies of copious foliage. _This isn't where I grew up…_ However, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a familiar tree. _This…this is our forest. The one right next to school. Where all this craziness began_. He looked over at his right hand, and realized that he was 18-years old again. Haphazardly, he tried lifting his arm. As soon as he raised it a centimeter, he scrambled up from the ground, not wanting to be stuck like he was a few seconds ago.

_Was that just a few seconds ago? Eight years just passed…_

"Jin? Is that you?" an out of breath, yet familiar, voice was approaching him from his left. A young, Chinese girl was running towards him. Her two pigtails bobbed back and forth as she ran. Jin would have found that comical in any other situation. He also noticed that she was wearing a familiar school uniform. For the first time, he noticed that he was also wearing his Mishima High School uniform.

"Where did you come from?" Ling panted; it sounded like she had been running for several kilometers. Jin felt relieved to see her face. She was probably his closest friend, and that was saying a lot. She was the one person who was able to break through his reclusive shell. He truly thought that he changed him.

"I don't know…I just kind of…woke up here," Jin responded, still confused himself. "Where were you?" Jin reflected the question to her.

Ling opened her mouth to respond, but she was interrupted by another yell. "Hey guys!" another voice from Ling's left reached their ears.

Julia, their new friend, approached them, waving her left hand as she jogged over to the clearing. "Hey guys," she smiled. Jin thought of her as the type of girl who was happiest when surrounded by nature. He thought that she was certainly a character; a character like no other person he had met.

"What's happening, guys?" Julia asked with a cheery tone.

"Eh…nothing much," Jin grinned slyly, trying to mask his shaken nerves from the previous experience. "What have you been up to?"

"Nothing really," Julia looked away, "I had this weird dream about this forest…." She walked to a nearby tree and touched a green leaf.

Jin's stomach leapt into his throat. _Could she have…the same dream?_ He began sweating nervously again. "Hey Julia," he began slowly, "did your dream happen…"

Apparently, Ling wasn't paying attention to their conversation, and she quickly interrupted Jin's thought. "Wow…this place is niiiiice…" she mused, "although, this place does look pretty familiar. Do you guys know where we are, exactly?"

Julia turned her attention to her new friend, "Yeah, I don't recognize this place either. Do you know where we are, Jin?" Both girls faced him, wondering if he had any input to their predicament.

"Remember? This is where…" Jin stopped, amazed at what he saw at the edge of the clearing. "Is that? …No way…" he stammered. He pointed past the two girls with wide eyes of shock.

"What?" Ling asked worriedly. At the moment of Jin's mention, Julia became suddenly aware of a strange presence behind her. Ling and Julia turned their heads at the same moment.

"Oh crap…" Ling stammered.

"What the hell…" Julia began a thought, but her mind reeling.

"How did you get here?" Jin questioned, still wondering if he was real.

Hwoarang looked just as, if not more, shocked than the three of his peers. "How in the hell…holy shit…seriously…what the fuck!" the hot-blooded Korean muttered. He was looking down at the ground, shaking his head.

Suddenly, Hwoarang began hitting his head from both sides with his two fists. "Wake up…wake up…wake up…wake up…wake up…" he repeated, his voice escalating.

"Dude…we're just as confused as you are…" Ling tried to calm him down.

"You guys don't belong in my dreams! Especially not that motherfucker!" Hwoarang pointed at Jin. His adversary noticed that his finger was shaking. After closer inspection, Jin noticed a skin-colored bandage across Hwoarang's cheek. _No doubt I did that…shit_ he regretted recalling their previous confrontation.

"Why in the hell are you guys still with him? Haven't we already established that he is a crazy motherfucker?" Hwoarang yelled from across the clearing.

"Shut up," Julia said simply. As soon as Julia finished, Jin saw a quick flash. Suddenly, they were standing in the barren forest. As soon as Jin blinked, they were back in the forest next to the school.

Just as Hwoarang was going to make an award-winning rebuttal, Jin quickly interjected, "Did any of you guys see that?" He found himself panting, his breath taken away from the intense experience.

"See what?" Ling asked him, becoming worried about her friend.

"That…dead forest…just now?" Jin breathed heavily.

"Uh…this forest isn't dead, Jin. What are you talking about?" Julia asked him.

Jin looked around at the faces in front of him. "You didn't see it?" he asked incredulously.

"See! He's crazy! Jin Kazama is motherfuckin' crazy!" Hwoarang yelled, victoriously.

"What are you doing?" Ling rushed to Jin. He was holding his head, apparently in random bouts of agony. "What's happening? Jin…are you O.K.?" she tried to catch him as he fell to the ground.

Jin began squirming on the ground. The barren wasteland and the natural forest kept flickering back and forth in his mind. No image stayed in his head for more than half a second. His clenched fists pounded against his head, in futile attempts to correct the problem. His consciousness began to fade in and out. The voices of Ling, Julia, and Hwoarang melded together and suddenly became increasingly distant with each abrupt change in scenery.

Suddenly, Jin found himself in a dark abyss. No forests, no dead lands, no friends. The darkness was unforgiving.

"_Jn…Jin!...JIN!"_

_Who was that? Was that Ling? No…it sounded more like Julia. I think. I don't know._ Jin closed his eyes. _Where am I? Is any of this even real? _He felt like he was falling; he couldn't feel anything underneath his feet.

"Open your eyes, Jin."

Jin did; and there was a white light. Jin had to shield his eyes to take it all in. The white light wrapped itself into a figure, the luminous figure of his mother.

"You're close. Remember, I will always be with you. Let me be your guide to a better tomorrow; you and your friends must help me in ensuring that a tomorrow exists." Jun's luminous figure spun around, growing fainter and fainter. As she receded back into the darkness, Jin finally understood her words.

"Remember, Jin, don't succumb to the darkness. Once you are tainted, it will take much more than human willpower to expunge the evil," her last words of advice rang through his mind.

"Thank you, mother," were the only words he could say before he was completely enveloped in the darkness. He felt at peace with himself this time. He realized that his mother gave that to him.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed his arm and spun him around. Jin gasped in surprise as he was face-to-face with two eyes. The eyes pupils were white, but the rest of the eye was black. This inversion sent an unsettling chill down Jin's spine.

"What do you want!" Jin screamed at the thing.

"That's simple. I want to kill everything in sight. My thirst for blood has gone unquenched for so long. You only whet my appetite when you nearly killed that boy. I want more," it demanded.

"How did you know about…What are you!" Jin attempted to look away, but the monster's gaze locked him into place.

"That is also a simple question. I am you, and you are me." the monster laughed, "and I predict that my appetite will be satisfied very, very soon."

* * *

Jin woke up in a cold sweat, breathing heavily. He looked around the room. _Where the hell am I? This bed isn't my bed…this room is much smaller than my room._ After several more seconds, it all came back to him. _Ling…Julia…Hwoarang…that was definitely the weirdest dream I ever had. Actually…I think that qualifies for the "nightmare"__category_. Jin looked over at the alarm clock next to the bed. _3:30 am…and I don't think I'll be getting any more sleep tonight…_

After rubbing the sleep from his eyes and taking a couple of deep breaths, he pulled a shirt over his head and headed outside. The lights in the hallway were still on. He didn't know if his hosts liked to waste electricity or if somebody was actually working still.

After visiting the restroom, he returned to his room, only to find Julia, in new night clothes she had purchased earlier that day, sitting against the opposite end of the hallway.

"Hey," Jin began.

Julia lifted her head to see who it was. "Oh…hey," she muttered. She looked around the hallway, distracted.

"Why are you out so late?"

"Why are you?"

"Oh…I had to use the bathroom…" Jin lied.

"Ehh…I couldn't sleep." Julia took a slight pause. "I had the weirdest dream just right now…it gave me the creeps…" Julia looked into Jin's eyes for comfort.

Jin didn't need Julia to say any more, and judging by the look in his eyes, Julia felt like she didn't need to say any more.

"Burnt forests?" Julia asked.

"The forest by the school?" Jin continued.

"Hwoarang?" Julia shot back.

"My mother?" Jin gave a faint smile.

"Yup…sounds right." Julia took a deep breath.

"So…I'm guessing Ling had the same dream?" Jin looked at the door to the girls' room.

"Yeah…we talked about it briefly. She said that she would try to get more sleep. I don't think I can." Julia paused briefly. "What have we gotten ourselves into? Today is the big day…do you think we're ready?"

There was another silence between them.

"I guess we'll find out …what all of this is about…what all of this _means_…" Jin found solace with Julia.

Another seemingly interminable silence between them.

Suddenly, Jin chuckled to himself.

"What is it?" Julia looked over at him, half-smiling.

"Oh…it's just that…you, Ling, me, and probably Hwoarang had the same dream…maybe we are all 'motherfuckin' crazy'." Jin tried his best Hwoarang impression.

Julia laughed at the attempt. "I don't know how to make sense of all this…"

"Maybe we don't need to make sense of all of it. We just have to go with the proverbial flow. And be there for each other. You, me, and Ling."

Julia found Jin's undying gaze engaging. "Yup…just you, me, and Ling."

Jin glanced back at the door that separated them and Ling. "Yeah…you, me..." Jin leaned in, closing his eyes.

Julia was relieved that she wasn't the only one thinking these thoughts. She tilted her head and inched her way forward to meet him.

And finally, as they sat in the cold, hard hallway of a base of the renegade group of ragtags who would be leading them into the fray in several hours to bring down the most powerful pharmaceutical company in the world, they kissed.

* * *

"Dude…that is so awesome," Asuka celebrated. 

She was admiring Yoshimitsu's latest piece of technology; his cloaking device.

"_With this, I can explore the Zaibatsu without gathering hostile stares…_" he explained.

"That's good…stealth is of the utmost importance," Asuka stated matter of factly.

Yoshimitsu deactivated the device; he was several feet away from where Asuka had last seen him.

"Geez…you're silent too! I didn't even realize you moved. You're really a new age ninja, she chuckled.

Jin walked into the main room. He was sporting his new blue and white sweatshirt and dark blue matching pants that he had bought the day before. He was relieved that he could get a change of clothes; in addition to his school uniform being nearly ruined, he felt that there was a certain sense of liberation as he trashed the old and accepted the new.

"What time is it?" he asked as Asuka tossed him a radio pack.

"9. Your meeting is at 10:30, so we're leaving as Steve comes back with his _supplies_," Asuka air-quoted the last word sarcastically.

"Ummm…OK," Jin responded apprehensively. "Julia and Ling should be out –"

Just as he finished his last sentence, the girls walked side-by-side into the room. Julia was wearing a white T-shirt under a jean jacket with matching pants, sporting her glasses to give her an "academic" look. Her brown boots made _clank!_ sounds as she walked on the tile. Ling wore a sleeveless red shirt with black track pants, with her old black sneakers.

"Are you sure you can wear that in front of Heihachi Mishima?" Asuka looked Ling up and down.

"Meh…I don't know…this is what high schoolers wear, right?" Ling looked to Julia for help.

"Wait…don't you go to high school?" the suspicious Asuka asked.

"But we wear uniforms to school, and I don't pay attention to all that "what's in, what's out," crap…I'd wear a panda suit if I could," she laughed.

"A panda suit…sounds hot," Julia nudged the giggling Ling.

"All right, you guys ready?" Lei entered the room, followed by Steve. Steve was sporting a medium-sized brown messenger bag that nobody had seen before.

"What's in the bag? You're _supplies?_" Asuka air-quoted again.

"Don't worry about it, little one," Steve brushed her off.

"Why? Don't you think we should know?" Asuka pressed on.

"They're just things for today," his tone suggested that he didn't want to be questioned about it further.

"He probably has his makeup and hair products in that man-purse of his…" a disgruntled Asuka whispered to Yoshimitsu.

Lei turned his attention to the three kids, repeating his question, "So…you guys ready?" he winked. Ling was still creeped out by the cop.

"I guess…ready as I'll ever be," Jin replied off-handedly.

"I'm a little nervous," Julia chimed in.

"Don't be…it should be easy. Heihachi won't suspect a thing," Lei grinned.

"All right, everybody, we don't have any time to lose. Load up the Yoshi's car, we're moving out," Steve cried loudly.

As Steve led the way outside, Jin, Julia, and Ling walked side by side. They each gave each other a silent nod. Jin saw nervousness in Ling's eyes. While Julia had a hint of the same nervousness, he could also see determination in Julia's.

_Here we go…_

Steve opened the trapdoor on the ceiling, back into the abandoned building. The same black, nondescript car that they had been kidnapped in three days ago was out on the street, waiting for its seven passengers.

Jin let out a chuckle after seeing the car.

"What's so funny?" Ling looked over at Jin, holding her stomach. She felt as if butterflies would burst of out of her any minute.

"Oh…it's nothing. We…all of us…have come so far in the past three days…most people don't experience this," Jin pondered.

"I don't think _anybody_ experienced this…" Julia muttered.

"I think you're right about that," Ling let out a short, seemingly fake laugh.

Jin was about to respond, but kept his mouth shut.

_This is it, we're about to jump off the cliff. Hopefully, we'll spread our wings and fly._

_

* * *

_

"Thanks for waiting. Mr. Mishima should be out soon, he had to make an extremely important conference call last minute." The secretary in the super-short skirt outside Heihachi Mishima's office explained to the three.

"That's fine. We don't want to disturb his work," Julia explained to the woman.

_How ironic…that's exactly what we are here to do…_

"He should be out any second now…" she smiled at the three as she walked back to her desk.

"We've been here for three hours, my back is starting to ache," Ling complained, rubbing the small of her back.

"Yeah…these chairs aren't that comfortable…" Julia nodded.

Jin ignored his friends, and kept his attention to his earpiece for any disturbance.

* * *

"This is sooooo boring!" Asuka exclaimed. "And I'm kind of hungry." 

Asuka and Steve had been sitting on the bench in the main lobby of the Mishima Zaibatsu for the past three hours, without anything to do except people-watch.

Steve shook his head, "We can't leave yet. And this isn't a game, take it seriously!"

Asuka yawned. "You know…when I signed up for this, I did think that this would be more exciting. And that I would get to avenge my father. But this…this is definitely now what I expected…I feel useless."

Steve looked at his comrade sternly. "Asuka, our role in this is as important as anybody else's."

Asuka glared at Steve. "Dude…that sounds like an after school special, 'You're unique, Asuka…just like everybody else!" She let out a loud sigh, looking around for something to do.

Finally, she found something of interest. "Steve, what's in the bag?" she inquired.

"Don't worry your pretty little head about it," Steve patted her head, patronizing her.

"Do you happen to have a Game Boy in there?" she reached for the strap.

"I wish…" Steve moved the bag out of her reach. He rested the back of his head on the wall. "Just wait…hopefully, we won't have to be called" was all that he could think of to reassure Asuka.

She tapped the earpiece in her left ear. "Somebody say something…please!" she sighed.

* * *

"_Lei…I think I got something…"_

"Where are you?"

"_East side of the building, enter take the elevator down, walk past the lounge room. When you reach the end of the hall, there's another elevator that requires a keycard. People with white lab coats have been entering and exiting the elevator, and it seems to only go down. I managed to lift one, and I'll meet you outside."_

"All right, I'm making my way right now."

"_Be careful. There are people littered throughout. Don't arouse suspicion."_

"Thanks for the heads-up. I'll be there in a sec."

* * *

"Jin! Is that you? You've grown so much!" Heihachi Mishima finally left his office. _The office_ Jin thought. 

"Hey…_grandpa…_" Jin let out pathetically. _That word…_

Heihachi rushed up to his grandson and awkwardly hugged him. Jin couldn't wait for the hug to end.

"And…would you like to introduce me to your friends?" Heihachi's deep voice bellowed.

"Oh…sure. Well…these are my schoolmates, Ling Xiaoyu and Julia Chang," Jin's voice cracked. _Jeez…my nerves are getting to me…_

"Good morning…err…I mean afternoon, ladies. I'm sorry for the long wait," Heihachi flashed a smile.

"It's fine, Mr. Mishima, no worries," Julia furiously shook her head. "It's an honor to meet with you," she curtsied slightly. _Oh my God…did I actually curtsy? I don't think I've ever curtsied…to anybody…_

Ling shook his hand furiously. "Thank you for meeting with us, Mr. Mishima. I'm sure that our project is going to be the best at school!"

"Only the best for my grandson and his friends!" Heihachi laughed again. "By the way, young ones…where are your school supplies? Don't you want to be taking notes for the tour?" he questioned them as his eyes went back and forth between the three.

There was a slight pause before Jin attempted to cover for them, "Uhh…we lost our things in the fire alarm scare the first day we were here at the Mishima Hotel. Everything was so crazy that day." Jin looked over to his friends for approval. Ling gave a slight smile.

"Ahh I see. My office was swamped that day. I had to do so much damage control. All for some prankster who pulled the fire alarm." Heihachi shook his head.

Suddenly, Julia remembered what Steve told her in the car on the way over. "Excuse me, but where is the closest restroom? I don't want to interrupt the tour you'll give us," she asked shyly.

Heihachi beckoned his secretary over, "Tomoko, please show Ms. Chang over to the women's restroom."

Julia looked away in embarrassment. "Mr. Mishima, I think I would be more comfortable if you just called me 'Julia'," she turned slightly red.

"Of course, of course," Heihachi laughed again.

Tomoko and Julia left for the bathroom. Of all the things to notice in the office, Julia noticed that the secretary's high heels didn't match her outfit.

"Mr. Mishima is the best boss I've ever worked for," Tomoko raved. "I love the environment, and his demeanor. Plus, the obligatory holiday bonus isn't too shabby…" she chuckled.

Julia laughed along to please her. _She kind of seems like a…well…never mind._

"Here we are, enjoy!" she smiled and laughed again.

"Thanks," Julia quickly escaped into the bathroom. She quickly checked to see if anybody other women were in the stalls. Confirming that she was alone in the restroom, she pressed the button on the radio pack in her pocket.

"Hey guys, we're about to start the tour. We'll be on the lookout for anything suspicious." She let go of the button.

After waiting for a second, Yoshimitsu's grumbles entered her ear.

"_I think I've found a lead. Lei is on his way now. Just get into that office._" Yoshimitsu's voice cut out.

"All right, guys. It looks like this show is on the road," Steve's voice suddenly interjected.

"I should get back now. Wish us luck," Julia finished, turning down the volume of the radio pack to the lowest setting. She placed the earphone into her jean pocket, and went outside to meet with the others.

"There you are, now we can start!" Heihachi's enthusiasm was unmaskable.

Julia felt relieved that Jin and Ling's earpieces were already out of sight. _We don't need any stupid screw-ups now_….

"All right, kids. Let's begin in the marketing division!" Heihachi's deep voice permeated throughout the room. He walked over to the nearest elevator and pushed the "Down" button. "Now, I'm sure that your high school business courses have taught you that you could have the greatest idea in the world, but if you don't have a good marketing plan, you won't get anything out of it…"

Jin stared at the oak door across the room. _So close…yet so far…we need to get through to that office…_

_

* * *

_

"_Hey Lei._" The invisible Yoshimitsu patted Lei on the shoulder lightly.

"How long can you keep your cloaking device on?"

"_A couple more hours…why?"_

"Just wondering about the time frame we have…that seems like plenty of time though." Lei whispered to avoid arousing suspicion.

Yoshimitsu slipped the keycard into Lei's hand. "_After you."_

Lei placed the card into the nearby slot. The panel made a quiet _beep_, and the silver doors in front of the cop and ninja slowly opened. Once inside, Lei pushed the only button in the elevator.

"I don't know where this leads…the button is unlabelled," Lei worried.

"_All the better..."_ Yoshimitsu attempted to allay Lei's fears.

"Easy for you to say…you're invisible to the human eye," he mocked.

"_Nothing should happen that we can't deal with._" Yoshimitsu reasussured.

"Strange…why don't I believe you?" Lei wiped beads of sweat from his forehead.

* * *

"So boring!" Asuka continued her complaints. 

Steve only shook his head in contempt. Growing impatient as well, he activated his radio pack. "Yoshi, Lei. It's been an hour since you met up at that elevator. Any new developments?"

No answer.

"Hello?" Steve began to worry.

Asuka reached into her pocket to reach the radio pack. "Yoshimitsu? Lei? Where are you guys?"

Silence.

Asuka and Steve turned to each other.

"Plan B," Steve simply stated.

"Plan B? Plan B? What's Plan B?" Asuka asked quickly, worried about her comrades.

"Yoshi and Lei won't answer their calls. We can only assume that something bad has happened. I'll go in search of them. You wait here in case the other three need you," Steve commanded.

Asuka was about to argue, but she understood Steve's expression; his eyes expressed the gravity of the situation.

"Fine. Go. I'll wait here," Asuka urged.

"I'm only going to use the radio when I need to, so you won't be able to contact me. It may arouse suspicion," Steve explained. "Dammit…the only thing I know about their location is that elevator Yoshi was talking about…" He began to gather his things.

Asuka looked at him as he prepared his way into what seemed like danger. "Good luck," she simply offered.

"Thanks. See you soon." Steve patted her head. After one last look, he walked away to the east side of the building.

Asuka's eyes followed Steve as he left her view.

_Wow…it finally hit me. This is really happening._

_

* * *

_

"And basically…that is a really really condensed version of the Mishima Zaibatsu's history," Heihachi finished triumphantly.

"Wow…fascinating…" Ling sighed. In reality, she had been bored out of her mind. They took a tour of the marketing department, but that was all logistics crap wouldn't interest anybody who didn't major in business administration in college. Heihachi kept getting cell phone calls about "important business ventures" that he needed to attend to immediately. He made so many trips back to his office that they all just gathered in the conference room next to Heihachi's office, where he gave a "brief" history of the corporation, which happened to last an hour and fifteen minutes.

"Any questions," Heihachi invited.

"Uhh…I don't think so…no…" Julia's eyes wandered, her tone slightly patronizing.

"Well…hopefully all this information will be helpful to you in your project," Heihachi's smile blinded the three.

"It sure will. Thank you very much, _grandpa_" Jin tried to play the situation off as if Heihachi's extensive knowledge of the company was the meaning to life.

"If that's it…" Heihachi began, "would you ladies mind if me and my grandson talked about _family business_?" Julia noticed a creepy emphasis on the last two words.

Ling, seeing as how they hadn't taken a tour nor gotten into the office, deemed this mission a failure. "No, we don't mind. You guys should catch up." Ling and Julia sat up from their seats.

"Wonderful! Jin, let's go into my office. It is much more comfortable there." Heihachi got up.

Julia stared at Heihachi in shock. _This is it! This is it!_ She looked over to Ling. She stared back at her, wide-eyed.

Jin attempted to hide his excitement. "Sure...where are you guys headed?" Jin asked the girls.

Julia fumbled for her words. "Umm…uhh…we'll…go back to the Hotel. We'll get started on the report," she stammered out.

"Excellent, ladies. You both have initiative. You would do well in the business world." Heihachi gave them approving looks.

They all made their way back outside into the common area around Heihachi's office.

"Well…ladies…it was a pleasure meeting you," Heihachi smiled at them one last time.

"The pleasure was all ours," Ling politely responded. Julia nodded in agreement.

"Here, Jin." Heihachi opened the large door to his office. As Heihachi walked in, Jin followed. He gave one last glance to his two friends. Ling looked on excitedly, while Julia mouthed, "Good luck."

Jin silently said, "Thanks," and closed the door behind him.

Julia and Ling slowly made their way to the elevator. Ling pushed the "Down" button, and the elevator began to _whirr_, indicating the cables were pulling the large metal box up the shaft. They looked at each other, each with a smile on their face, nonverbally communicating their sense of victory.

Tomoko's phone rang. She quickly picked it up and answered in a flirty voice, "Hello, Mishima Zaibatsu, this is Tomoko speaking,"

Ling looked around the room, hoping that Jin was all right in there. She fixated on Tomoko's phone call, trying to get the time to pass by quicker as the elevator made it's way up.

"Ummhmm…ummhmmm…O.K…I'll tell him right away," Tomoko cradled the phone on her shoulder. "Yes…all right. And this Hwoarang kid…you said he was Korean, right?"

Ling's stomach dropped. _Hwoarang! What the fuck! _She quickly looked over to Julia. She was looking over in the opposite direction, at a flock of people talking about the Zaibatsu's stock. She listened intently to the rest of Tomoko's conversation.

"So…he's being detained by security? O.K…yes. Thank you for calling. Mr. Mishima needs to be informed whenever somebody is taken for _Class D security_. O.K…thank you. Goodbye." Tomoko placed the phone gently in its cradle.

The elevator made a pleasant _ding_ noise, and it opened, inviting the girls to enter. Julia went in, admiring the fancy elevator. "Wow…I can't believe we did it, Ling! We actually got in…well…Jin got in…but still, that counts!" she turned around to face Ling.

To her surprise, she was in the elevator alone.

_Oh crap…I can't believe I just did that…_

She jabbed at the "P.O." button, for "Penthouse Office." _That Ling…why doesn't she pay attention to the damn elevator?_ Julia sighed.

* * *

Ling approached Tomoko apprehensively. "Uhh…Tomoko, right? Would you mind showing me the bathroom?" she asked feebly. 

"Oh well…your friend visited it before…I'm sure she can…" Tomoko looked behind Ling for Julia. "Where did she go?"

"Oh…I let her down before me. I really have to go." Ling lied.

"All right, follow me," Tomoko stood up.

Tomoko led the way to the restroom. As soon as were directly in front of it, Ling quickly shoved Tomoko inside.

"Hey! What the hell is your probl—" Tomoko didn't get to finish her thought as Ling punched Tomoko in the face, leaving a white oval shape on her cheek. Then she struck the secretary's stomach, causing her to double over. Placing her neck in the pit of Ling's right elbow and placing her right foot behind Tomoko, Ling brought her to the floor of the bathroom, holding her neck against the ground.

"Now, Tomoko, you're going to tell me what "Class D security" means, right now," Ling snarled.

"Class D security? What are you talking about?" Tomoko yelled, but Ling quickly slapped her with her free hand.

"I heard you talking about it on the phone. What is "Class D security," and why is Hwoarang in it?" Ling's eyes were fierce.

"I don't know…I don't know!" Tomoko began to panic, her voice escalated.

Ling tightened the grip on the secretary's neck. "I don't have time for this. Tell me what it is!" Ling calmly stated.

Saliva began to ooze out of Tomoko's closed mouth. "Please…stop…I can't…breathe…" she managed.

Ling applied a bit more pressure.

Finally, Tomoko faltered. "Class D…torture…"

Ling's eyes widened with shock. Taking a second to compose herself, Ling moved her head next to Tomoko's ear and whispered. "I will kill you if you don't tell me where he is _right now,_" she threatened in a low voice.

Tomoko's eyes filled with fear as tears streamed down her fair cheeks. "…basement…" she managed to eek out.

Ling finally released the vice grip on Tomoko's neck. The secretary clasped her hands around her neck, massaging her throat from Ling's hands as she squirmed around the floor. She took deep breaths, coughing violently after every exhalation. "You…bitch…" she muttered.

"Sorry, I didn't see any other way…" Ling's words betrayed the lack of composure in her mind. "But I have to do this," she said regrettably.

Ling approached Tomoko and, extending the middle and index finger on her left hand and the ring finger and index finger of her right, she twisted Tomoko and pressed in the delicate space surrounding the base of the neck. Tomoko instantly was knocked unconscious.

"Thanks, Grandpa. Your ancient pressure point crap really does work…" she thought aloud.

Ling dragged Tomoko into the bathroom's storage closet for cleaning supplies. Making room with one hand and supporting Tomoko with the other, she finally got her into a comfortable position and closed the closet door in respectable amount of time. She exited the bathroom, and quickly went over her game plan as she waited for the elevator.

_Damn…the Zaibatsu is really into shady dealings…why would they do something as horrible as torture?...O.K…First I have to find Julia. Tell her Hwoarang is here. He's being tortured in the basement…Hwoarang is being tortured in the basement…what kind of stupid shit has gotten himself into now?_ Ling took a moment to gather her thoughts. _One thing is for sure…this is definitely turning out to be more than we bargained for._


	12. Tangled

"Steve, did you hear that?" Asuka breathed excitedly into the microphone.

After a second of silence, Steve's voice emerged from the other end of the static. "Yeah, good work, Julia," he replied.

"I accidentally left Ling up there. I'll go back after I -- " Julia quickly released the radio's button as the elevator lurched to a stop. Julia smiled at two portly Japanese businessmen as they entered the elevator. Hoping for their quick exit, she listened in on the remainder of their conversation.

"Julia?" Asuka became suspicious, eyeing the elevator she would come out of across the main lobby.

"I'm guessing she's not alone anymore. She's in the elevator, after all," Steve tried to allay Asuka's worries. Steve quickly went back on the airwaves. "And I think I should too, talk to you later." Steve's voice sounded rushed. His voice cut off with the obligatory spurt of radio static.

"Well, if you can hear this, Julia, Steve went off to support Lei and Yoshimitsu. They weren't answering their radio calls," Asuka explained, sounding more worried than before. "And as soon as you guys get out, all three of us are on standby," she explained quickly, hoping that Julia would respond.

Asuka waited. _This waiting is making me mad…_

_

* * *

_

Ling tapped her foot impatiently for the elevator. _Dammit…it's still going down…probably to the ground floor…_

Suddenly, an idea rang through her mind. She glanced over at Tomoko's old desk. _Certainly…something could be helpful in there…_

She approached the desk, tiptoeing unconsciously for no reason. She glanced behind her at the elevator. _7th floor…excellent._ She jogged over to the other side of the desk. She scoured over the papers on the desk. Noticing the computer screen was black, she shook the mouse to wake it up. "Come on…hurry," Ling urged, half-expecting the computer to respond to her plea.

Finally, the computer responded with a roadblock, a login prompt. Ling stared at the mocking "Password?" text box.

"Computers are stupid anyway," Ling turned her attention back to the scavenger hunt on the desk, talking to no one in particular.

Deeming the documents on the top of the desk unimportant, she began to search the drawers of the lavishly ornate work desk. Folders labeled "Summary of Annual Report, 1992" was the first folder found in the first drawer, with similar folders following afterwards. The second drawer greeted her with a "Summary of Annual Report, 2000" folder.

_Dammit!_ her mind screamed, as she slammed the second drawer against the desk. Ling moved over to the other side of the desk, checking the top drawer.

_Now this…this might prove useful later…_ Ling eyed a little black book labeled "Zaibatsu Directory." She chuckled to herself, "Usually, these things are on computers now." She glared hatefully at the computer screen again. Ling felt that the login box was laughing at her.

Opening the last drawer, Ling was surprised to find nothing. "Hmmm…" Ling pondered, but was interrupted by a voice.

_Shit!_ she jumped. Her right leg swung, hitting the drawer. It made a loud crash as the drawer slammed against the desk.

"Tomoko, can you get my grandson and me some refreshments? I'll take some of that wine Mick sent me. Jin?" Heihachi's voice sounded more overbearing than usual through the intercom telephone on the desk.

Jin's voice was distant, almost inaudible, to the phone. "I'll have water, I suppose," he requested.

_What the hell do I do!_ Ling began to panic. _I'll just leave it alone…hopefully the elevator will be here soon._ She took a second to appreciate that she first was relieved to see the elevator a long ways away from the penthouse office, yet she couldn't wait for it to arrive now.

Getting up to leave her small crime scene, a small mass caught her eye. Interested, she leaned down to pick it up. _What the hell is it? _she asked herself, inspecting the blank, orange, plastic rectangle with a piece of Scotch tape across it. _It's a…keycard…or it looks like the ones in the movies_ she mused, placing it in the directory book she planned to pilfer. _It must have been taped under the desk…and it fell when I slammed the drawer_

She stuffed the book between the small of her back and her jeans' waistline, covering it with her shirt. As she began to walk over to the elevator, Heihachi's voice exploded from the intercom phone. "Tomoko? Are you there? Tomokoooooooooooo?" Heihachi's voice echoed in the phone. "Gah…good help is so hard to find nowadays…" he complained as the office chair he was sitting on made an audible _squeak_ sound as he got up from his seat.

_Holy…he's coming!_ Ling began to panic. She quickly glanced at the elevator's display. _21th floor! _She cursed. She looked around the large room frantically, looking for an escape. _What do I do!_

As Ling's mind raced a mile a minute, she suddenly thought of a plan. _Yes…if everything goes right, this would definitely help us…_

The office's doorknob finally moved, and Ling narrowed her eyes at the door in anticipation. Heihachi's face peered out of the door at his secretary's desk.

"Hey Tomo – wha?" it finally dawned on him that Tomoko was not at her workstation.

"Hi Mr. Mishima," Ling attempted to wave cheerily.

"Oh…hello…Ling, correct?" Heihachi seemed rushed.

She simply nodded her head.

"Have you been waiting here all this time? I thought you were going back to the hotel. Where's your friend?" Heihachi eyed her slyly as he interrogated her.

_Shit…I didn't think this through…_ Ling stumbled for believable lies as Heihachi interrupted her thought process.

"Well…never mind. Anyway, have you seen Tomoko, my secretary? She usually sits here," Heihachi's arm poked out through the crack between the door and the wall.

"No…I went to the bathroom and missed the elevator that Julia was on. When I came back, she wasn't here anymore," Ling lied.

"Oh…she might be faxing those memos over to Regional…" Heihachi was deep in thought for the next several moments. "Well...anyway, thanks," he began to recede back into the office.

"Actually, Mr. Mishima, would you mind if I discussed a private matter with you?" Ling attempted to try insert innocence in her voice.

"Umm…can't it wait?" Heihachi's voice rose. "If you'd leave your contact information with my secretary, I would be glad to…"

"Please, Mr. Mishima?" _Oh my god…I sound so desperate._

Heihachi hesitated, staring at Ling. Finally, she saw a flicker in his eyes; an indication of weakness. He popped his head back into the office and muttered something to Jin. She looked at the back of Heihachi's business suit with hopeful eyes, trying to make out what was being said.

_Wow…that suit looks expensive…_

Heihachi emerged from the office and closed the door behind him. "Yes? What is it?" He seemed annoyed.

"Well…uhhh…I was wondering about job opportunities…and how one gets into a business like this…" While she spoke, she stared intently at the door, trying to burn a hole in it. _Come on Jin, I won't be able to hold him forever…_

_

* * *

_

Jin peered outside of the office window, trying to make out what was happening. Rays of light illuminated a small portion of the carpet.

_I didn't realize how dark this room is…_

Squinting, he saw his grandfather's back turned towards him, talking to…_somebody_. Jin tried moving to the window on the other side of the door, trying to get a better look. From this new angle, he noticed two pigtails over Heihachi's shoulder.

_Must be Ling…I don't think pigtails are business-attire._

Jin dug around his left pocket for the wireless earpiece. Blowing some stray pocket lint off of it, he hastily inserted it into his left ear, making sure that it was in place. "Hello?" he muttered.

"Jin? Is that you?" Asuka's voice rang in his head.

_Oh thank god…somebody's still out there._

"Hey, Asuka, what's happening so far? I'm in the office alone. Ling is talking to Heihachi outside."

"You're alone! Stop talking to me and start searching!" Jin quickly took the earpiece out as Asuka yelled at him.

"I can't! He'll be back any second!" Jin tried to explain, replacing the earpiece.

"_Get in there…now!_" Asuka gritted her teeth.

_I cannot believe I am being bullied by a girl two years younger than me…_ Jin walked to the other side of Heihachi's desk and shook the mouse, urging the computer monitor to exit sleep mode. Hastily searching the icons on the desktop, he randomly clicked one, causing lists and lists of seemingly random information to pop up on the screen with frightening speed.

"I'll never find anything with this…" he thought aloud. He quickly began ruffling through papers on the neat and organized desk, scanning for keywords such as "tests", "human", and "weapon".

"Jin…have you found anything?" Asuka's voice urged.

He reached back into his pocket to press the radio button. "No…and it doesn't help that I don't know what I am looking for…I'm doing the best I can," he replied coldly.

* * *

The doors of the elevator finally opened in front of Julia. She stood in the corner, eyeing the people that had kept her silent company for their ride down the past 30 floors. 

_I wonder why people don't like to talk to each other on elevators anyway_ her mind began to wander.

Snapping back to reality, she found herself in alone in the elevator on the ground floor of the Zaibatsu. She quickly jabbed at the "P.O." button once again to close the door. The elevator lurched upwards with a distinctive hum, causing her to feel slightly heavier than usual.

_Dammit…this ride is going to take forever…stupid elevator algorithms...is there anyway to get straight to the office?_

Almost forgetting what she was doing, Julia placed the miniscule radio earpiece into place.

"Asuka. Any updates?"

"Julia? Where are you?" Jin's soothing voice made Julia feel at ease, even with the increasing tension of the situation.

"I'm going back up to the office…I accidentally left Ling up there. How are you able to talk? Are you alone?" she quickly asked, holding earpiece in place.

Asuka answered for Jin. "Ling is distracting Heihachi by talking to him outside of the office."

"And I haven't found anything of interest," Jin replied.

"We told Heihachi we would go back to the Hotel…how is Ling stalling him?" Julia asked.

"There having a conversation outside. Listen, you shouldn't come up here. Heihachi might get—" Jin lost his train of thought as he scanned a document he found in one of the desk drawers.

"What?" Julia strained to hear her friend. She paced around the elevator, waiting for his voice impatiently. _Come on…_

"Julia, Ling can operate an elevator by herself. Get back down here, we might be needed soon," Asuka's stern voice commanded.

Julia thought about Asuka's words. "You're right," she chirped, quickly pushing the 4th floor button, causing the elevator to slow to a halt.

"Of course I'm right. I'm always right," Asuka quipped as Julia exited the elevator, looking for the staircase exit.

* * *

Steve found an out-of-place-looking door in the corner of long corridor. Searching the perimeter of the door, he found a silver panel with a black keypad. A black slot, which he assumed was the keycard reader, was above the keypad. 

_This has to be it…the lounge Yoshimitsu mentioned was back there in the last hallway._

He looked around, checking for anybody nearby. There were two security guards at the other end of the hall, talking to each other amicably. There were four offices in the hallway, two on each side. Each had a huge glass wall facing the hallway, allowing anybody in one office to see through the office directly across the hall. Steve saw that there was nobody in the office to the right, yet one person was hunched over the computer in the opposite room.

_Hmm…quite the predicament…_

Steve slid his way and waited around the corner of the hall, next to the keycard door.

_I think I got a plan…I just need that guy. He has to go to this door…_

As if a higher power answered his requests, he heard the office door open, and the sound of dress shoes on tile began approaching.

_Here he comes…_

An average height brown-haired male finally reached the intersection between the two corridors. However, the man turned his back to Steve, and began going the other way. Steve began to follow the worker, quickening his pace to catch up.

As he stalked right behind the man, Steve quickly tapped his shoulder twice. As soon as the man turned around, Steve sent a right hook square into the man's glass jaw. The worker reeled from the attack and began to fall to the ground, unconscious. Steve quickly caught him in midair, preventing the loud thud that would have definitely aroused the attention of the two security guards around the corner.

Steve quickly laid him gently on the cold floor and began to check his pockets. He found a wallet with nothing of interest. In the next pocket he found a small leather case. Upon opening it, a red keycard was slipped between two leather straps.

_Jackpot_ Steve smirked.

Quickly slipping the keycard into his back pocket, Steve dragged the unconscious man down the hall and into the stairwell that led back to the upper floors of the Zaibatsu. He left him under the staircases, hopefully delaying his inevitable discovery. He quickly left the stairwell, approaching the ever-elusive keycard door. Crossing the intersection between the two corridors, Steve quickly glanced to the right, checking if the coast was clear. The two guards were still at the end of the hall. One of them glanced at Steve, and he instinctively averted his eyes, preventing eye contact.

_Stealth is definitely not the name of my game…_

Steve approached the keycard slot, retrieving the red keycard from his pocket. The keycard was a deep red, with black characters scrawled upon it. Steve couldn't make sense of any of the things written on it.

_Now…how does this thing go in?_

He haphazardly slid the card into the slot, hoping he inserted it the correct way. At first, nothing happened. Steve furrowed his eyebrows, wondering what the delay was. From the depths of the keycard reader, it finally returned the card with a _whirr_. He glanced at the door. It didn't move an inch.

_Oh shit…_

The panel began to flash red, and a loud siren began to sound from an unseen source behind the keypad.

"Fuck…" Steve muttered, jabbing at random keys on the keypad in an effort to silence it.

Frustrated and panicked, Steve retrieved the keycard and quickly walked away from the door. As he reached the T-intersection of the two hallways, he ran into one of the two security guards. They fell to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

The security guard behind him drew his gun and pointed it directly at Steve's chest. "What did you do?" he questioned. The determination in his face betrayed the shakiness that Steve caught in his voice.

"Nothing…I swear…" Steve tried to sound scared to gain leverage against the security guard as he began to stand. It wasn't hard; he was staring down the barrel of a gun.

"Don't lie to me!" the guard raised his voice. He nodded over to his partner on the ground, motioning him to get up as well. His eyes left Steve for a single moment.

That moment was all it took. Steve ducked out of the way of the gun and grabbed the arm of the downed guard. The other guard squeezed the trigger of his gun, shooting at the wall directly behind Steve.

_Slow reflexes_ Steve smirked, as he pulled the guard to his feet and in front of him. He took the gun from his hostage's holster and pressed the barrel into his neck.

"All right, now, I'm in charge," Steve stared at the threatening guard, his gun leveled at Steve and his human shield.

"Put down the gun, and I'll let him go," Steve tried to sound reasonable. The guard had a tortured look on his face, agonizing over his next choice of action.

"He'll be fine if you just put the gun on the ground and let me go," Steve said.

The guard, not taking his eyes off of Steve, slowly bent down and laid the gun gently on the floor.

"Good, thank you," Steve felt satisfied.

Steve placed the gun between the small of his back and the waist of his jeans. Placing both of his hands on his hostage's shoulder blades, Steve pushed him with all of his might into the security guard.

He lost his balance and stumbled into the arms of his partner. With both of them disoriented and off-balance, Steve quickly rushed up from behind and, with his gun in hand, pistol-whipped the closest guard in his right temple. He slumped to the ground, unconscious. The other guard reached for his gun on the ground in an attempt to retaliate, but Steve quickly caught this and pistol-whipped him in the back of the head, knocking him unconscious.

"Stealth is _definitely_ not my game," Steve muttered to himself, half-humorously, half-regrettably. One at a time, he grabbed the legs a guard and dragged him several yards to the staircase door. He placed both of the unconscious guards next to the worker he hid there previously.

_It's only a matter of time…_ he worried. Steve realized that anybody who took the stairs this way would automatically find the three unconscious bodies; it may have worked if only one of them were there.

By the time Steve returned to the corridor, the loud keypad alarm had stopped.

_What to do now?_ he sighed. Steve looked around the corridors. Nobody was present, giving the hallways a strange, creepy silence. He entered the office of the man he left under the stairs, trying to find something useful.

After an unfruitful search in a nearby filing cabinet, he sat down on the desk and woke the desk computer from sleep. The monitor obliged his wishes, and the blue Zaibatsu logo filled the monitor. Along the periphery of the monitor were various icons that directed to esoteric and seemingly unimportant Zaibatsu infrastructure data. However, one caught his attention.

"_Override Codes"…looks promising._

Steve double-clicked on the icon. An animated Heihachi Mishima icon popped up. It showed Heihachi tapping his foot impatiently and checking his watch, as the program loaded.

_Oh my god…the man really is crazy…_

The computer made a nice _ding_ sound, and the program loaded up, taking a third of the display's area. The program consisted of a three-dimensional floor plan of the Mishima Zaibatsu, with labels on the doors of the various rooms.

_I don't know...what is this?_

Steve moved the cursor over these labeled doors. As he hovered over any chosen door, it was highlighted with a blue hue.

_Hmmm…_

Steve cycled through the various floors of the Zaibatsu within the program. Finally, he reached the floor that he was currently on, apparently named "B-701." He hovered over the door to the office he was currently in. It lit up with the familiar blue hue.

_What will this do…?_

After a several seconds of hesitation, Steve clicked on the door. A white dialog box popped up, reading "Processing Request" with the same "waiting Heihachi" animation.

For several seconds, Steve waited with bated breath for something to happen. Finally, the door to the office slowly swung open. Initially, he just stared at the door in shock. The cogs in his mind began to do the work, until the light bulb went off.

_I can remotely open any door in the Zaibatsu with this…_ he smirked.

Steve moved the cursor over to keycard door. However, a green hue, instead of blue, surrounded this door's icon. He clicked on it as before. The "Processing Request" dialog came up, but unexpectedly, a second dialog box appeared.

"What the… 'Verification Required'?" Steve stared in disbelief. _How in the hell do I get verification?_

Something caught the corner of Steve's eye. He looked over to the left, and saw a blinking red light next to the keyboard. The light was on a blocky, off-white peripheral that was attached to the computer. There was a black slot in the side of the device.

_Here goes nothing…_

Steve took the red keycard out of his pocket once again and slipped it into the device. The red light stopped blinking and became solid red. Another nice _ding_ sound emanated from the door, alongside a dialog box saying "Verification Accepted! Level 3 Clearance!", with an animated Heihachi smiling and giving a thumbs-up. The keycard ejected from the device. Steve clicked this white box, and another appeared in its place.

"_Reset To Default?" I guess…_

Steve clicked "Yes," and a final dialogue box read "Reset To Default…Successful!"

_This is good…except I don't know what the default code is…_

Steve got up from the desk, placed the keycard in his pocket, and left the office through the already-opened door. He rounded the corner and approached the keycard door again.

_Default…default…default…_

Steve pressed the radio button in his messenger bag. "Asuka, you there?"

"Yeah…what's up?" she replied.

"I'm at the door Yoshimitsu and Lei found, but I can't get in; there's a keycard and keypad lock. I managed to reset the keypad lock to default. Do you know what the default code is?"

A pause. "It has to be something simple…a very simple sequence. Is there any indication of the make of the keypad lock on the keypad itself?"

Steve looked around the black pad. There was a silver plate on the right, reading "Everlast Locks."

"Everlast…Everlast Locks."

"Serial number?"

"A728G."

"O.K., let me check what I get…hopefully I get a good Wi-Fi connection here…I don't want to set up the satellite uplink equipment…" Asuka began working away.

After several minutes, Asuka returned. "Okay, the default code for Everlast Locks keypads ending with 8G is 0-0-0-0-#"

"0-0-0-0-#. Gotcha." Steve typed it into the keypad. After pressing the pound sign, the keypad beeped, and the door began to open.

"Yes! Thanks Asuka!" Steve was jovial as he walked into the elevator.

Asuka tried to reply, but harsh static accompanied her voice.

"Sorry…can you repeat that?"

Harsh static made Asuka's voice inaudible again.

"I'm getting really bad reception here…" Steve jabbed the sole button on the elevator. "I can't hear anything you say."

There was more loud static. When the door to the elevator closed, all sound from the radio was cut out.

"Asuka, can you hear me?"

Nothing. Steve took the radio pack out of his pocket and turned it off and on. The strong red light on the top reassured him that he didn't need new batteries.

"Hello?"

Silence.

The elevator began its descent.

* * *

"Mr. Chaolan, we are getting unauthorized radio signals around _that_ area," the technician reported, reading off the huge monitor in front of him. 

The tall, silver-haired man's eyebrows furrowed in interest. He got up from his desk and joined the technician.

"Are you sure those aren't guards?" the silver-haired man asked.

"Yes. We calibrate the radios of guards every morning with our systems before the building opens. These are definitely unknowns"

"Hmmm…can we triangulate the source of the signals?"

The technician sighed. "Already have it. They've been communicating for a while."

"Why didn't you report this earlier?" the silver-haired man questioned.

"I wanted to make sure that I wasn't reporting erroneous information. But I'm sure now," the technician wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead.

"Good. Don't scramble the signals just yet."

"Right."

The silver-haired man pointed at a blue dot on the screen. "Is this where the unauthorized signal is coming from?"

"That's where one of them is coming from. I can't find the other, they must have already gone down the elevator. The E.M. jammer is already doing its work."

"Dammit…he's already in the sub-lab," the silver-haired man slammed his fist on the desk.

"Well…if you can retrieve this person," the technician pointed at the same blue dot, "then perhaps you can get them to take you to the other?"

Mr. Chaolan slowly turned his head towards the technician. "Are you telling me how to do my job?" he asked, seething with anger.

"By no means, sir…" his voice trailed off.

"You do your job, I'll do mine." The silver-haired man walked back to his desk, picking up the phone. Cradling the phone between his shoulder and ear, he pressed a combination of buttons on the keypad. "Security, it's Lee Chaolan. There will be somebody sitting on the west bench of the main lobby. Right across from the elevators. I need you to apprehend that person and bring him to me. Tell them that they are infringing on our no loitering policy or something like that. Bring him to holding room A." Lee hung up the phone.

Pointing at the technician, he commanded with a stern voice, "You. Contact me if you find that person moving. I need to deal with this." He briskly walked out of the room in anger.

* * *

"Hello? Hello? Steve?" Asuka silently worried about her friend. _What the hell is happening?_

Julia emerged from the staircase door, making her way to Asuka.

"Anything?" Julia sat down on the bench.

"Hold on…Steve? Hello, Steve?" Asuka repeated into the radio microphone.

"What's wrong?" Julia slipped her earpiece into her left ear.

"We seem to have a pattern. Whenever we get people that go toward the area Yoshimitsu and Lei investigated, we get radio silence. But the thing is…I don't think either party imposes the radio silence. Somebody must be doing this…"

"A scrambler, maybe?" Julia contributed.

"Maybe…well – whatever it is, that area is certainly a place to investigate," Asuka placed the smart phone back into her backpack. "And something tells me that he isn't going to radio in for some time…" Asuka looked off onto the opposite wall.

"Well…the fact that we can't communicate with the guys that follow Yoshimitsu affirms our suspicions," Julia patted Asuka's shoulders.

"We're leaving," Asuka abruptly replied, getting up.

"Wait wait wait…we need to be here for the others," Julia rationalized.

"What others? Jin seems to have things under control. Ling is giving him all the help he needs. Once they're done, they'll know to meet at the rendez-vous point and wait there for us," Asuka ran through the best-case scenario through her mind.

"Yes, but they are expecting somebody right here…on this bench, on our primary rendez-vous point," Julia replied tartly.

"I can't just sit back here anymore. Everybody has contributed except me. I need to help Steve and the others. I have a feeling that something's wrong, and this is the right lead to follow," Asuka put on her backpack.

"Wait! You're not going to leave my friends up there! We weren't assigned to follow them!" Julia exclaimed.

"I'm assigning myself," Asuka shot back, giving Julia a dirty look. "I'm leaving now. Follow me if you want."

Julia stared at Asuka's back as she began to walk away from the bench and around the corner.

_I can't leave her alone…she might get hurt without backup._

_I can't leave this bench…Ling and Jin need to meet with somebody here or they'll think something is wrong._

_But something is wrong…_

_I know that! It's just…what do I do!_

Julia sighed sharply in frustration as she got up from the bench and began pursue Asuka.

_Dammit Asuka!_

_

* * *

_

"…and that's basically why I decided to venture into the board game business with 'Mishima: The Board Game.' Any more questions?" a very bored and very annoyed Heihachi as an equally bored and equally annoyed Ling nodded in false enthusiasm in an attempt to keep his attention away from his grandson.

"Hmm…interesting…now what made you go into the alcohol business with 'Mishima: The 190 Proof Vodka'?" Ling asked, fluttering her eyes.

"Listen, young lady, I'm sure we can do this another time. I'm sorry, I'm going to have to attend to my grandson. I'm sure you understand, it has been a very long time since we've seen each other. It was nice meeting you," Heihachi quickly turned on his heel and approached the office door.

"Wait! Sir! Please!" Ling yelled as the door was slammed shut in her face. She thought she heard him mutter, "Where the hell is my secretary?" as he walked the several paces to his office door.

_Well…that was the best I could do…hopefully that was enough. _

Ling pushed the elevator call button. The doors immediately opened.

_Let's see what the others have gathered so far…and Hwoarang._

_

* * *

_

"I'm extremely sorry for the delay. Your friend is quite the talker," Heihachi chuckled, wiping a collection of sweat from his brow.

"Oh no, it's fine," Jin shuffled in his chair, fingering the floppy disk in his pocket labeled "Expenditures, 2004." He thought that if they examined it closely enough, they could find expenditures that were for the Zaibatsu experiments rather than the business itself.

"So have you given any thought about what you are going o do after you graduate?" Heihachi asked as he sat back down in his large, comfy office chair.

"Umm…well…I was thinking about business school sometime along the line, but I'm not sure…" Jin said feebly, nervous under the spotlight that Heihachi was placing him under.

_He's so intense, like I'm being interrogated or something…I have to get out of here…_

"Good…very good…" Heihachi replied. "Tell me more…"

* * *

Ling exited the elevator on the ground floor. "What! Wait…where are you guys?" she urged into her radio receiver, eyeing the empty benches where they were supposed to wait. 

"We're going downstairs. Hopefully to help the others down there," Julia replied. Ling heard Julia ask Asuka, "Enter the code Asuka"

"Wait, Julia, you have to listen to me. Hwoarang is –" Suddenly, a loud crash of static invaded the radio receiver and her ear. She was so shocked by the sudden onset of the loud static that she quickly pulled the earpiece out.

"Julia! Hello! Listen, Hwoarang is here! Heihachi's secretary told me that they are holding him here for something! Do you copy, Julia?" Ling was unaware that she was yelling into the microphone.

Nothing but static. She thought that she heard a voice at the other end, but nothing that she could distinguish from the pervasive static.

Finally, there was nothing.

"Hello?" she waited for an answer. No static greeted her question. She felt that she was speaking to a wall.

"Julia? Asuka? Anybody?"

_Dammit!_

She eyed the bench where the girls were supposed to be.

_I don't want to do this by myself…_

_But…we're running out of time…_

Ling turned around and poked at the elevator call button. It lit up in response. She tapped her foot in impatience, waiting for the elevator to arrive.

_Bah…forget it!_

Ling sidestepped and opened the door for the staircases of the entire building. She flew down eleven flights of stairs to the bottom.

"Oh geez…" she eyed the three unconscious bodies at the bottom of the long staircase. She quickly pushed the door open and entered an empty, bright hallway. At the end of the hall was a white, metal door.

_Wonder where that leads…wait a minute…_

Ling took out the directory that she stole from Tomoko's desk.

"Hmmm…" she looked at the miniature map that was on the first several pages of the directory. _Basement…basement…basement…_

Her eyes lit up when she saw it. "Basement A" she smirked. The smile was quickly wiped off her face when she saw Basements B through H right next to it, and Sub-Basements A through I.

_Bitch…she couldn't be a little more specific…_

She followed the quickest path down to Basement A with her finger on the miniature map from her current location.

_Might as well get started…_

She began to make her way to the first basement in her grand Mishima Zaibatsu Basement Tour.

* * *

Julia and Asuka emerged from the elevator slowly. The corridor was a brighter white than the other corridors of the building. 

"Where are we?" Asuka wondered.

"I don't know…but –" Julia began.

Asuka quickly placed her index finger across her lips, urging Julia to be quiet.

"Yeah…I think that he'll give me that pay raise. I don't think he has a choice," a gruff voice was speaking.

"Probably…" the same voice said.

Julia heard that the voice was coming from the left, around the corner of the hallway. Julia pressed the backside of her body against the left wall. Asuka did the same, in hopes escaping his cone of vision when he passes.

_Hopefully he doesn't turn on this corner for the elevator…_ Asuka prayed silently.

"So how's everything?" the gruff voice asked his non-speaking partner as he rounded the last corner.

_Here he comes…_

"Ah…that's good," the mystery man passed the corner. If he had outstretched his left arm parallel to the ground, he would have touched Julia. He seemed distracted in his conversation as he passed by the two girls. Apparently, the man was speaking to someone via a radio. Julia saw the earpiece not unlike hers in his hear.

As soon as he was out of earshot, both girls sighed in relief.

"We are definitely not going that way…" Julia said.

"All right then, let's go to where he came from," Asuka replied, leading Julia to the left.

There were numerous doors on either side of the hallway. Not knowing which to enter, they continued walking on down the hallway. The doors all seemed to be protected with a similar keypad/keycard lock as the elevator.

Asuka took the smart phone from her backpack. She called the blueprints of the Zaibatsu onto the screen, squinting at the miniscule text. Cycling through the floors, she scowled.

"Unless I'm missing a set, we don't have blueprints on this floor," Asuka said as she turned off the device.

"That's both good news and bad news. If the Zaibatsu didn't make 'prints, then that definitely means that we are in the right place for proof." Julia stopped to think. "But that also means that we won't know where to go…we'll just be wandering around, hoping for luck," she explained.

"Right…so I guess all we can do now is to keep our eyes open for some sign of the others…"

* * *

"Yoshimitsu, we haven't found anything," Lei sighed, annoyed. He searched the blue wall with his hands, trying to find a trip switch that may lead them someplace. _I don't know if those things even exist in real life…they do in Scooby-Doo._

"_I know…this is strange…all we have found here is are random office supplies_," Yoshimitsu replied, as equally exasperated as the cyborg ninja could sound. He was in the opposite side of the storeroom.

"Do you think this is the right place for a secret lab?"

"_Well…we haven't explored the entire area yet…"_

"We've been searching for an hour and half now!"

"_Patience_."

"How long do you have on your cloaking device?"

"_About 20 more minutes. We need to hurry._"

"And it doesn't help that these radios are broken." Lei set down his radio pack on a nearby crate.

"_Next room?_" Yoshimitsu turned on his cloaking device in case there were any hostiles outside in the hallway.

Lei swaggered toward the door. "After you, mon ami."

* * *

Asuka and Julia crept around the corner. Another hallway. Big surprise. 

"Where are we!" Asuka complained.

"I don't think we're getting anywhere…" Julia sighed.

Asuka tried to open a nearby door, already knowing that it would not open.

"Should we go –" Julia began, but she quickly stopped herself. She stared intensely several feet ahead of them, where the hallway took a left.

"What?" Asuka asked, much to Julia's chagrin. She quickly raised a finger across her lips, and signaled her against the wall. Julia quickly followed suit in front of her.

Both girls began creeping towards the corner of the hallway, their backs alongside the wall. When Julia reached the edge, she inhaled deeply and stepped forward.

"Hah!" a shrill voice cried.

Suddenly, a closed fist flew towards Julia's face as she stepped from the wall. Julia's honed reflexes allowed her to quickly grab her unseen opponent's forearm with one hand and used the other to grab the attacker's wrist. Lifting the arm over her head, half-twisting it, pivoting her body forward, and finally pulling the arm forward, Julia robbed her attacker of their center of balance and sent them airborne. Unable to get a visual on the attacker's face, Julia saw two pigtails flail through the air as the attacker flew forward, flat on their back.

_What the…_

Still holding onto her arm, Julia was shocked to see Ling's strained face on the ground, rubbing her backside in pain.

"Holy crap! Ling! I thought you were some Zaibatsu cronie! What the hell!" Julia blurted out apologetically, quickly helping her up.

"Nice one…I didn't see you either," Ling winced.

"What are you doing here?" Asuka quickly questioned, still amazed at the sudden appearance of Ling.

"I've got a lead…what are you two doing here? Why weren't you at the rendez-vous point?" Ling asked, brushing the backside of her outfit in an attempt to eradicate any trace of dirt.

"Well…whenever anybody goes down here, they go dark. Look." Asuka pressed the button on her radio. "Can you guys hear me through your earpieces?"

They both shook their heads.

"See?" Asuka continued, "So we decided to investigate. What's even more interesting is that the lab is somewhere here. We went through the blueprints and this place is nowhere on it. Very suspicious, right?"

"What? That can't be…" Ling stared at Asuka. "I found this place on a map of the Zaibatsu…hold on." Ling emerged with the Zaibatsu directory, pointing at one of the blue squares on the mini-map. "This is Basement C. I've already looked through Basements A and B for Hwoarang."

"Wait wait wait…Hwoarang?" Julia had trouble processing the sudden influx of information. "What are you talking about?"

"Who in the hell is Hwoarang?" Asuka seemed confused.

"He's our friend," Ling responded. "And yeah, I heard Tomoko talking about a Korean boy named Hwoarang. They're holding him forcibly in one of these basements. I don't know why, but with all the crazy shit that has been happening the past few days, I wouldn't discount the possibility of him being here." Ling paused, flashing back to that fateful day in the forest, and their collective vision.

"O.K….you know what that means…" Julia sighed, eying Asuka.

"Absolutely not…our mission is already rocky as is. We can't add a rescue mission," Asuka shook her head vehemently.

"Fine. You guys don't have to. We'll do it ourselves. Jin'll come out soon enough and hand you your proof. Then you can leave us alone," Ling flatly stated.

Asuka sighed sharply. "Fine." She took out her smart phone once again and began cycling through each floor of the Zaibatsu.

Julia still had difficulty wrapping her head around Ling's revelations. "O.K.…Hwoarang…dammit that idiot…"

"Lemme see that," Asuka motioned to the Zaibatsu directory in Ling hand.

Ling threw it to her. The keycard inside flew out of the directory and landed on the ground. Asuka caught the directory with one hand.

"Oh shit…hopefully it's not damaged," Ling rushed to pick it up, checking the edges.

"What's that?" Julia asked.

"I found it. This is how I got through the locks that lead down here."

"Can I see it?"

"Sure." Ling handed the keycard to her friend. Julia flipped it over, looking for anything noteworthy.

"This really is weird…" Asuka motioned the two girls over. "I've looked through the blueprints that I've uploaded onto the phone. I don't have any of the basement or any of the sub-basements in them, yet this directory does."

"Well…I got it from Heihachi's secretary. Maybe she would have this information since she is so high up," Ling offered.

"Hmm…maybe…but I wouldn't think so. I would think that a location like this would be on a need-to-know basis. She may be a flight risk," Julia rationalized. "Was there any way that you didn't upload all of the blueprints into your phone?"

Asuka shook her head. "No, uploaded these blueprints onto my phone myself."

"Who was your source for those blueprints?" Ling asked.

"Lei. He said it was better if we didn't know where he got them from," Asuka replied slowly. "Well…let's not think about mistakes. Let's look for leads around here," Asuka quickly lead the group forward through the hallway. She silently pushed back doubts from her mind. _Dammit…this doesn't bode well._

The other two quickly followed her lead.

* * *

After searching extensively, the security guard radioed in. "Mr. Chaolan? I've checked all of the benches in the main lobby. Nobody is near them." 

"What!" Lee yelled through the device.

"I've circled the grounds three times. I haven't found anybody remotely near the benches of the main lobby."

"Hold on…" Lee replied, seething in anger. He got up from the chair that he was waiting rather impatiently in for the past half an hour. He exited the holding room that he expected the guard to bring the suspect to.

"Must I do everything myself?" Lee sighed in frustration as he made his way back to the tech-room.

* * *

The three girls went down another flight of stairs. At the bottom of the stairs, another keycard-protected door greeted them. Ling's keycard allowed them passage. 

"Where are now?" Julia asked Asuka and Ling. Asuka whipped out her smart phone while Ling opened up the directory.

"Where do you think we are, Ling?" Asuka asked.

"Hmmm…it looks like we just exited Sub-Basement G, but from there…" she trailed off.

"Yeah…I can trace us back to that Sub-Basement, but— "

"Did you hear that?" Julia interrupted, pressing her ear against the hallway.

"Hear what?" Asuka asked her, pressing her ear against the hallway in the same fashion as Julia.

"You guys look…well…whatever…" Ling followed suit.

"What is it?" Asuka heard various muffled sounds. Suddenly, they heard a loud crash, startling all three girls. There were similar muffled sounds after the crash, yet they seemed louder and deeper.

Julia strained to make out the noise. "Could those be…voices?" More muffled sounds.

"If they are, we should head the other way, right?" Ling began to walk from where they came.

"Wait…this is the biggest lead we've had in a while. Let's—" Julia didn't finish her thought as she rounded the corner and approached the closest door. She pressed her ear against the door again.

_Yup…those are definitely voices…_

Julia motioned for Asuka and Ling to join her, urging them to remain quiet. The two girls tiptoed their way to join Julia, pressing her ears against the door.

"You've said some pretty _interesting_ things up there, kid. Mind explaining yourself?" a scruffy voice mocked through the door.

"Nah…that's O.K. Actually, would one of you mind getting me a cup of water?" another deep, yet familiar voice replied.

Asuka tapped the shoulders of the other two girls. "_Hwoarang?_" she mouthed.

Julia and Ling nodded their heads.

_That's him…although something seems strange…_ Ling thought.

As if Julia had read Ling's mind, she mouthed, "_Duress_."

Asuka nodded her head in agreement. Julia noticed the keycard reader on the wall next to the door.

_What the… _something in Julia's mind clicked.

Julia pointed at the reader and made a swiping motion up and down with her hand. Ling understood this and took out the keycard. All three then pressed their ears back onto the door.

"You know kid, at the higher voltages, this machine can run enough electricity through your body that your muscles will snap in two," the scruffy voice laughed.

"Sounds fun," Hwoarang's voice sounded strained.

A pause.

Suddenly, Hwoarang screamed out in pain. The machine that the man was talking about was hissing under Hwoarang's yells as it did its job. Suddenly, the machines hissing became louder. Following suit, Hwoarang's screams could be heard even as the girls took their ears off of the door. Ling looked at the other two in shock and horror.

_Oh my god…_

Finally, the hissing machine stopped, and Hwoarang's screams soon followed suit. Ling looked away from the door; she couldn't imagine what he was going through.

"Ready for another dose?" the scruffy voice asked.

"Bring it, shitface." Hwoarang was panting for breath.

Asuka looked at both of them. Ling nodded vehemently at Julia, pointing through the door. Julia nodded in agreement, pointing to the keycard reader. Ling swiped the keycard through the reader, turning the red light next to it green. With a mechanical lurch, the door disappeared under the right wall.

With all three girls assuming offensive stances, they looked into the room. The first sight to be seen was Hwoarang. He was lying on a metal grate, tied to it by his wrists and ankles. He was shirtless, with sweat pouring down his entire body from the torture. His chest heaved up and down for oxygen. Several wires were attached to his chest that led to a small machine on a nearby table. A bald man with a short beard was standing over machine.

_That must be Scruffy Voice._ Julia thought.

Her theory was quickly disproved as four additional men stepped towards the door and made themselves visible.

"Who in the hell are you?" the scruffy voice called out from the back. A half-finished cigarette was in his mouth as he stepped forward. He blew out the cigarette smoke menacingly.

"What the…Ling? Uhh…girl from school?" Hwoarang managed, breathing heavily. The expression on his face was twisted with both fear, disbelief, and surprisingly, determination.

Julia would have felt offended by Hwoarang's poor memory if she didn't notice that all six men in the room were armed.

"This doesn't look good…" Asuka muttered.

"That depends from where you're sitting…" Scruffy Voice pulled out his handgun and aimed it at Asuka.

* * *

"Thanks…I'll definitely read it in my spare time," Jin looked doubtfully at the copy of _Heart and Soul, the Memoirs of Heihachi Mishima_. The huge picture of Heihachi on the cover was unsettling to Jin. 

"I bet you would learn a lot from the book," Heihachi's back was to his grandson. He was looking outside the huge ceiling-to-floor window overlooking the city.

_He's been like that for a while…maybe this is the best time to get out_ Jin thought, hoping for a quick getaway.

"Hey Grandpa, it's getting kind of late. I have school tomorrow and the last train back to town leaves in an hour and a half," Jin lied, hoping he would believe him.

"What? Oh…yeah…sure…" Heihachi waved him away.

_Is that it? Did I offend him or something?_ Jin wondered.

Slowly, he got up from the rather comfortable chair he was in and backed away, feeling the diskette in his pocket for assurance.

"O.K…it was nice seeing you. Hopefully we could do this again sometime…" Jin continued to back away. His hand rested on the doorknob, and he began twisting it.

"Wait Jin…I have something to ask you," Heihachi's voice erupted unexpectedly.

Jin turned around. "What is it–" Jin stopped dead as he stared down the barrel of a gun.

Without a moment's hesitation, Heihachi fired, sending a tranquilizer dart directly into the side of Jin's neck. Jin clutched at it weakly as the sedative began doing its work. He fell to the ground hard, unconscious.

Heihachi pressed a combination of numbers on the office desk phone. "Lee. Come up to my office."

"Father, I'm a little busy…" Lee responded through the phone, annoyed.

"Believe me when I say I don't care what the hell you're doing right now. This is infinitely more important," Heihachi hissed.

"Fine," Lee quickly responded.

Heihachi pressed the Speaker Phone button off.

_This is it…hopefully everything on the other end is tied nice and neat._

_

* * *

_

Yoshimitsu and Lei walked down the hall when they heard cracking.

"_The charge on my cloaking device is out…"_ Yoshimitsu began to flicker in and out of the hall, finally Lei saw the ninja's silver armor in front of him.

"Not good…" Lei muttered.

"_Well…we'll do what we can,_" Yoshimitsu's voice sounded hopeful.

"So far, we haven't been doing much. I feel like we're running around these halls like chickens with our heads cut off," Lei complained.

"_We'll find something soon,"_ Yoshimitsu encouraged. He opened the next door.

It was a completely empty room. Yoshimitsu stepped inside, looking around at the walls for any irregularities.

"This room is definitely suspicious…" Lei patted Yoshimitsu on the shoulder.

"_What are you talking about? There isn't anything here,"_ Yoshimitsu argued.

"Look at it. Every room we've been in so far had at least _something_ in it. It served a purpose. This room...I don't know…I have this feeling…" Lei fought back.

"_I guess we can try…"_ Yoshimitsu replied dubiously.

"_Trust_ me on this one…" Lei closed the door behind him.

Yoshimitsu looked around the walls of the room. He even looked up a the ceiling. Their white color was slightly off-putting. "_Lei, this was definitely an error in judgment on your part. There is absolutely nothing noteworthy here." _He spun around to leave the room.

Lei was standing in front of the door, his arm outstretched with a gun in his hand, aimed directly at his partner's head.

"Acutally, Yoshimitsu, I think the only person who made an error in judgment was _you._"

* * *

**Note: Hopefully you guys are enjoying the story as much as I like writing it. Since this chapter was long (and took long to write), the next one will be a short interlude. So it won't pick up _exactly_ where things left off, but...well, I guess I can let you guys see for yourself when I post it up. **

** Sorry Lei fans. What may have happened in this chapter may come as a shock, and totally out of character, but hopefully you'll stick with it. I think this is what is fun about fanfiction; making these characters do what you want them to do, no matter how unexpected it is. Hopefully I'll see you guys next chapter.**

** All reviews and criticisms are welcome!  
**


	13. Interlude: The Knight of Fire

**Interlude: The Knight of Fire**

The realization hit Hwoarang like a bullet train.

_I'm alone…_

He lay back on the grass. Looking up at the sky, he noticed three clouds. There may have been others, but the tall trees blocked his view.

_I'm alone…here…in the middle of this god-forsaken forest. Where the hell am I?_

He sat back up and turned towards the direction Jin lead Ling and that girl from school.

_Fuck you, Jin._

He finally got up from the ground. His head was still a little woozy from the fight, so he sat back down. Waiting for dizzy sensation to wear off, he took a moment to inspect himself. The first thing he noticed was his bloody school shirt. He quickly turned away, trying to quell the anger boiling inside of him. His pants were torn every which way, revealing a bloody knee.

_How in the hell did I get that?_

The mud on his boots caused his blood to boil again.

_Damn…that'll take forever to take off…and I can't ride my bike with mud caked on them…_

Suddenly, he realized that he was missing something. He looked around clearing frantically, trying to find…

_My bike! My bike! Oh my god…where is it?_

Suddenly, it all came back to him. He quickly jammed both hands into his pocket. A partial wave of relief rushed over him as he grasped the keys.

_That bike better still be there when I get back…_

Cautiously, Hwoarang stood back up, testing the waters. He was still a little dizzy, but it was more manageable now. The lush, vibrant green of the forest made his head spin. Looking around the clearing, he noticed a small, dilapidated, brown shack several feet away. Curious, he walked over to the shack.

_This must be where that motherfucker grew up…_

As he got closer, he realized that it was made of wood. It probably would have appeared liveable in a previous era, but years of abandonment proved to be too much for the little cottage. Hwoarang almost tugged the door off of its rusty hinges as he let go of the tarnished doorknob. The inside of the house wasn't impressive. The first thing Hwoarang noticed was the overwhelming stench of the home. At first, he had to squint to see inside, as the only source of light was a small, dirty window on the opposite wall. The dreary walls looked like they would crumble any second. He noticed the remaining residents of the home; he saw several insects scuttle across the wood floor, probably fearing the vibrant rays of sun. The only thing inside that proved somebody had lived there was a rusted old-fashioned stove on the far left wall. Hwoarang walked over to it, noticing several spider webs along the burner. He thought of trying to turn on the stove, but decided against it and began walking to towards the door. After several steps, something caught his attention in the corner of his eye. Spying through the window several feet away, he noticed that he could see something dark behind the dirt. He walked up to the window, wiping off the dust.

_What is that?_

Several stones were jutting from the grass, making a circle. A wood frame was hung across the stones on either side. A rope, attached to the frame, lead down the into the circle.

_A well_.

Hwoarang made his way outside of the cottage and behind the house. The stones reached a little bit under his waist, and the rope tied to the wood frame looked like it would snap under any tension. Untying the rope from the frame, he first tested to see if the pulley was operational by sliding the rope back and forth.

_The wheel needs a little grease._

He began to pull the rope roughly. After one tug, he immediately heard the bucket on the other end hit the edge of the well, probably spilling water.

_If this well has any water still…_

He continued to pull until finally, the bucket was obtainable. The water inside was crisp and clear. Hwoarang wanted to pour the entire bucket of water into his mouth to quench his undying thirst; it felt as if his throat was on fire. He bent over the bucket and cupped his hand with water. He saw his mangled, bloody reflection.

_Christ…_

With the water in his hand, he washed his face, rubbing his fingers against his skin roughly. After the task was done, the water in the bucket was tinted a light red.

_At least I look slightly presentable…_

Throwing out the water, he let the bucket down for another water trip. With the bucket filled to the brim, he drank half of its contents. The water felt cool as it slid down his throat. He felt replenished; his head wasn't dizzy anymore.

Regrettably leaving the comforting well, he returned to the front of the house, and walked over to the edge of the clearing where he last saw the other three.

_This better be the right way,_ he snorted.

As he walked past the first tree, he kicked it lightly in the trunk as an expression of frustration at his situation. Despite everything that had happened in the past ten minutes, he decided to push everything into the back of his head. He was left with a nagging feeling; as if something was on his shoulder that he couldn't brush off.

_Whatever is happening…I'm not a part of it. I've made up my mind…I don't care what the hell happens to those three…_

His attempt at indifference had its temporary effect. As he left the clearing and entered the forest ahead, he only had one thought in mind.

_That bike better be there when I get back…_

_

* * *

_

Hwoarang slumped in his desk, sleepy from the previous day. After taking several hours to find the next town, he had to take two bus lines to the main bus station, which then brought him home. After retrieving his motorcycle from the side of the road as the sun was rising, he slept in his place for only a couple of hours before dragging his feet to school.

_I used up my last strike yesterday…if I'm absent for one more class, I'll get kicked out…and I'll really hear it from Sensei. _

Apparently, the teacher in the front of the class was discussing the politics and the turbulent relationship between Japan and the United States. The only thing Hwoarang noticed was the revealing skirt she was wearing.

_She's definitely too old for that…_

Hwoarang glanced over to the empty desk several rows up.

_Ling's not here…_

He quickly expunged any negative thoughts out of his mind...including any thoughts about yesterday. To him, yesterday was a lost day.

_She isn't still hunting around for the spirits and other bullshit like that…is she?_

Suddenly, his throat felt scratchy, as if it were on fire.

* * *

Hwoarang was walking down the street, on the way to the dojo of Baek Doo San, his Tae Kwon Do teacher for the past several years. He quickly became a father figure to Hwoarang, even inciting Hwoarang's fear when he was angry with him. With his gym bag in tow, he was thinking of good excuses that would excuse him from missing yesterday's training. 

_What if I was sick? Nah…he would ask me why I didn't call. What if a cousin came to visit unexpectedly and I had to do things with him? Wait…he knows I don't have any cousins…_

Before long, he reached the entrance of the dojo without a good excuse.

_Maybe I'll just go for the stomach flu, and accept the consequences. I definitely can't tell him what really happened._

Walking up the steps, he stopped right in front of the door. He expected that Baek would be standing right at the opposite side of the door, with a stern look on his face that would strike fear into anybody's heart for not coming the previous day. Slowly sliding the wooden door open, he closed his eyes and stepped in, closing the door behind him, bowing, and yelled apologetically, "Sensei? I'm really sorry for not com—"

Several things happened at once. He heard Baek's voice mutter, "Oh no…" He sounded further away then he expected. He also thought he heard swift footsteps as he felt a small gust of wind coming from the front. He opened his eyes just in time to see the back of a stranger's fist fly straight towards his left cheek. Without any time to react, he flew sideways as he was struck, falling to the ground.

_Shit! This is definitely the last time I cross Sensei…_

Quickly positioning his body into a crouch on one knee, he looked up at Baek. His eyes widened with shock as his Sensei was not staring back at him from above. Instead, a large Chinese man was hovering over him, wearing a dark suit. The suit didn't mask the enormous bulk of muscle that undoubtedly framed his body. Upon further inspection, he could see flecks of blood on the expensive set of clothes. His intense eyes did not break contact with Hwoarang's eyes. Hwoarang suddenly felt a chill as noticed the severity of the situation.

_Move, dammit! MOVE! You don't just sit there in street fights, waiting for your ass to be kicked! How is this different?_

Another voice in his head answered. _Well, this is definitely not a street fight…this guy's gonna kill me. I can see it in his eyes…_

His legs were unresponsive. He was paralyzed, and a numbing sensation was quickly filling throughout his body as the large man began walking towards him.

"Hwoarang, get the hell out of here!" he heard Baek scream, but he couldn't see him. The attacker quickly grabbed Hwoarang by the neck with one arm and lifted him up off the ground. Hwoarang's body didn't expect for the oxygen in his body to suddenly become a rare resource, and his body began convulsing uncontrollably. His eyeballs felt as if they were going to pop out of their sockets. The man slammed Hwoarang's back into a nearby wall, causing the building to shake.

_He's inhuman…I'm gonna die…_

From this point, Hwoarang could see the entire room, and he saw his teacher, a man who he thought had no weakness, slumped on the ground, bloody in the face and looking on in horror as his star pupil was dying in front of him. Looking into his attacker's face, he noticed a stream of blood running down from the side of his mouth and down his chin. He finally had an epiphany at this display of weakness.

_Fight back! What the hell are you doing? FUCK THIS GUY UP!_ Hwoarang's mind screamed.

Finally, whether it was the adrenaline coursing through his system or his mind finally overcoming matter, he pressed his feet against the wall and pushed against it with all his might. The attacker lost his balance at the unexpected act of defiance and fell back, with Hwoarang landing on top of him, elbows out to possibly inflict damage. His sharp joints missed their target, and Hwoarang rolled off of the man, holding his throat and coughing, urging air to enter his lungs as he lay on his back.

Silently, the man got up and kneeled next to Hwoarang. He brought both fists up behind his head, with every intention of driving them into his stomach to force air out. Just as he was about to strike, he saw Baek rush up from behind the man and pull his arms back to prevent the hit.

With all of his might, the man grunted loudly as he grabbed Baek's arms and threw him forward, over Hwoarang and landed on the floor near the door several feet away from him. Hwoarang took this opportunity to roll out of the way of the man and stand. Clutching his chest, the young warrior was wheezing for air. The man got up from his knees and walked over to the bloody Baek.

_Not on my watch…_

Hwoarang ran toward the man and attempted a jump kick. The man swiftly dodged, moving his body back to avoid the strike. Upon landing, Hwoarang brought one of his feet up over his head and attempted an axe kick. The force of the kick surprised his attacker, and he blocked with both forearms. Noticing an opening, Hwoarang brought his foot down, rotated on his hips, spun around and sent a kick directly into the man's ribcage. The man, stunned by the force and quickness, fell back and retreated slightly.

Hwoarang ran to his master and bent over him. "Oh my god…" he muttered, as he saw his face. Baek's nose was bleeding profusely. Several cuts above his left eye added to the display of fierce red carnage on his face. The top of his usually white gi was drenched in blood, and his battle-worn face indicated that he was about ready to give up. Hwoarang turned on his heel and faced the man.

"Who in the hell are you?" he yelled.

The man stood there silently, obviously pained from the last hit.

"I said…who are you?" Hwoarang screamed as he ran towards him, on the offensive. Hwoarang attempted to sweep his legs, but the man jumped over the attack. Quickly following the sweep, Hwoarang spun on his heel and tried to knock him out with a roundhouse kick to the head. The man quickly ducked and decided it was his turn. He closed the distance between him and the red-head with amazing speed. He swiftly punched him in the abdomen with staggering force. Hwoarang clutched his stomach in pain, and seeing the man right in front of him, hastily threw a sloppily-formed side kick. The man easily caught the attack, and unexpectedly wrapped his arms around Hwoarang's leg and thigh. Before he had a chance to know what was happening, the man spun around and slammed Hwoarang, back-first, into a nearby wall. The feisty Hwoarang screamed in pain as he made the dojo room shake. The man spun around again in the opposite direction, this time slamming Hwoarang face-first into the same wall. The dojo wall protested again and made a loud creaking noise. Hwoarang felt blood erupt into his mouth as he was against the wall, and let it spill onto the floor. Just as the man was going to slam him into the wall again, Baek came from his blind spot and quickly kicked him in the chin. The attacker dropped Hwoarang roughly as he reeled from the attack.

From the ground, Hwoarang looked over at the dueling warriors. It seemed that, even though in his condition, Baek had the upper hand in this round. Hwoarang touched his mouth with his fingers. They emerged bloody, as he expected. Hwoarang got up and ran up behind Baek.

"I'm ready!" Hwoarang yelled at his master.

Understanding the signal, Baek punched the man with a hook, stunning him slightly. Grabbing him to close the distance between them, Baek then ran up to him, and using the man's thigh as a stepping stool, he jumped onto his shoulder, and with his left foot, kicked him in the back of the head, sending him staggering towards Hwoarang. Even though he was supposed to land on his feet, Baek hit the floor hard face-first, in pain from all of his injuries.

As the stranger stumbled his way towards Hwoarang, the redhead angrily sent one kick directly to his head. As soon as he felt it connect, he spun around and kicked him in the head again, this time with the heel of his foot. Noticing that he was still standing, he sent one last roundhouse, putting all of his might into the strike. It felt like new energy coursed up into his leg, tightening his muscles and keeping his leg extended and taut. This new flame within him suddenly left him as his heel connected with the man's cheek. The man flew to the side, incapacitated.

Confident that the man wasn't going to be getting up any time soon, Hwoarang fell down on the seat of his pants, tired. He panted for air, calmly waiting for his body to return to functioning normally. He lay down completely on the dojo floor, slowing his breathing.

_What the hell was that just now?_ Hwoarang questioned himself, but quickly reminded himself of a more important question.

"You O.K.?" he shouted.

Baek groaned loudly as a response.

"I'll get someone…" Hwoarang sat up from the floor, reaching several feet for his gym bag. He searched the small pocket on the side for his cell phone. Once he retrieved it, he brought it close to his face, dialing 9-1-1. As he was about to press "Send", somebody's strong hand grabbed his wrist painfully, twisting it unnaturally. He dropped the cell phone on the ground as he screamed in pain. Looking up, he saw that it wasn't the strange man he had just knocked out, it was a man clad all in black, with a gas mask for some reason. For a split second, Hwoarang thought he was imagining it. When the man let go of his hand and aimed his handgun at Hwoarang, he knew that this was real.

"I got your distress call," the masked man said aloud. Hwoarang didn't know to whom he was talking to.

He noticed movement to his left, and realized that the large Chinese man was shuffling, getting up from the ground.

_How in the…_

"Did you get the sample?" the masked man asked.

The suited man was standing now, and several steps later, he was hovering over Hwoarang. The Chinese man had several cuts on his face. Two other trails of blood stemming from his mouth had joined the initial one Hwoarang saw beforehand.

"No…not yet…these two proved to be a little tougher than the others," the suited man's voice was very deep.

"You got beat by some geezer and some kid?" the masked man asked incredulously. The Chinese man gave him a dirty look, and the he quickly turned his attention to his gun and Hwoarang, avoiding his gaze.

"Just get the sample and let's get out of here…the Zaibatsu put us on a time constraint," the masked man said.

One lone word resonated within Hwoarang's mind. _Zaibatsu…Zaibatsu…_

Hwoarang saw Jin in his head. _We're going to the Mishima Zaibatsu_ Jin was saying. _We're going to the Mishima Zaibatsu…_

The masked man interrupted his thoughts.

"Should we silence him?" the masked man asked, motioning toward the grounded Hwoarang with his gun.

"Nah…I want to take care of this kid myself…" the Chinese man said, kneeling down on the ground next to Hwoarang.

Hwoarang stared hard at the man, lips in anger. Strangely, he wasn't afraid at this confrontation.

"You got spunk, kid. Gotta respect that," the Chinese man stated flatly. The Chinese man grabbed Hwoarang's red hair with both hands and bashed his head on the ground several times. Hwoarang gritted his teeth to keep from screaming in pain; to keep himself from showing weakness. With one hand still holding onto his long hair, the man curled his fingers and struck the young man's head three times. Letting go, the Chinese man got up and kicked Hwoarang in the stomach.

"He'll be out for a while…let's just get the damn sample and get out of here…" the Chinese man lead the masked man over to Baek.

Everything was blurry to Hwoarang. Stars danced around head, urging him to fall asleep. Hwoarang looked over to his master. Black began to cover the top of his field of vision. The two strangers kneeled over Baek. Hwoarang's eyes began to close. The last thing he saw was the blurry silhouette of the Chinese man stabbing his master with something in his hand.

_Damn…that bike better be there when I get back…_

_

* * *

_

Hwoarang found himself in a forest.

_God dammit…I hate forests…_

This forest was dead, though. Instead of the usual blue nights of Japan, this evening was tinted red. Without getting a chance to look around, he suddenly, he saw flashes of people. Things. Places. He couldn't discern all of them, but he knew that they were all things that he had known. The last thing, and the thing he saw for the longest time was a flame. A flame that was burning out.

Hwoarang opened his eyes to see a blue sky in a very different forest. And apparently, he was lying down.

_Why are my pants so tight?_

He got up and looked down. He was wearing his Mishima High School uniform.

_Oh…these crappy things…_

Suddenly, he heard voices to his left.

_Shit!_

He got up cautiously, careful not to make a sound. Creeping, he approached a clearing where he saw three figures.

_I can't shake this feeling…they look familiar…_

He entered the clearing.

"Oh crap…" the pig-tailed girl said.

_Oh crap indeed…_

"What the hell…?" that new girl muttered.

_I'm just as confused, bitch._

"How did you get here?" his rival asked.

_I want to wipe that smug look off your god damn face, fucker._

"How in the hell…holy shit…seriously…what the fuck?" was the only thing that managed to come out of Hwoarang's mouth. He began to hit the sides of his head repeatedly, whispering "Wake up…wake up…wake up…wake up…wake up…"

Ling turned to him, "Dude…we're just as confused as you are."

"You guys don't belong in my dreams! Especially not that motherfucker!" Hwoarang pointed at the man who started it all.

_Well…maybe one of you belongs in…wait…I can't think about that shit right now!_

"Why in the hell are you guys still with him? Haven't we already established that he is a crazy motherfucker?" Hwoarang yelled, trying to persuade the others to stop defending the asshole.

"Shut up," the new girl directed to Hwoarang.

_Bitch…if I—_

Jin interrupted his thought. "Did you see that?" he breathed. Suddenly he was panting.

"See what?" Ling asked.

"That…dead forest…just now?"

_What…the…fuck…is…he…talking…about…_

"Uh…this forest isn't dead, Jin. What are you talking about?" the new bitch questioned the asshole

"You didn't see it?" Jin looked as if he saw a ghost.

"See! He's crazy! Jin Kazama is motherfuckin' crazy!" Hwoarang yelled.

_I knew it…I knew it…I knew it…_

Suddenly, a bright light flashed, and Hwoarang was all alone.

"Hello," a voice out of nowhere said.

_What? Who said that?_

"I did," the voice replied to his thoughts.

_That voice…it must be…_

"Yes…it is."

It really didn't surprise him. After all the crazy shit that has happened to him, he knew he was bound to get another visit from her.

"No matter which path you take, Knight of Fire, destiny always finds a way. Always."

* * *

Hwoarang woke in a hospital bed. Upon opening his eyes, he quickly stood up, looking for Baek. The first thing he noticed was that he had a splitting headache. Touching the base of his forehead, he felt a large strip of gauze wrapped around his head. As he reached for his head, he saw the IV tubes in his arm. He quickly ripped them out, clenching his teeth to help with the pain. 

Jumping from the bed, he pulled back the curtain to the next hospital bed.

And there he was.

Baek wasn't looking too good. Bandages wrapped around his face, some were red to the surface with blood. His breathing was much louder than usual. He was still…too still. Hwoarang just stared at his mentor in shock.

"Umm…sir?"

A nurse had appeared behind him.

"You should really be in bed…"

"Will he be O.K.?" Hwoarang demanded loudly.

"Sir, please…"

"Will he?" he screamed.

"He should be…it'll take some time…"

Hwoarang quickly brushed past the nurse, ignoring her calls to return to bed. Following the signs, he quickly made his way back to the entrance of the hospital. The various people on the street stared at the sight of the strange young red-haired man out on the sidewalk with a hospital gown.

Hwoarang recognized the neighborhood the hospital was located, and realized that his house was only a couple of blocks away. He began quickly walking toward the house, with only one thought in his mind.

_I'm going to the Mishima Zaibatsu._

_

* * *

_

Almost two days later, Hwoarang found himself at the door of the huge conglomerate's headquarters. He had parked his motorcycle several blocks away from the building and walked the rest of the way. He was dressed in the most menacing biker's outfit he had. He was wearing a green and orange sleeveless jacket. His blue jeans were fitted with several belts down his thigh and along his leg that didn't seem to serve any purpose but decoration. A huge silver belt-buckle glistened in the sun as he walked. The biker goggles on the top of his forehead fit loosely, and the biker gloves on hands cut off at the fingers. His steel-toed boots were fitted with spurs. Any kick would definitely incapacitate any opponent. He would make _sure_ of it.

_They should even take care of that crazy motherfucker…_

Upon stepping into the building, he was immediately fixed with curious stares. He quickened his step to the huge receptionist desk several feet in front of him.

"Can I speak to the head of the company?" he calmly asked.

"Uhh…what?" the pretty receptionist asked.

"Can I speak to the head of the company?" he repeated, this time slowly.

"I'm sorry sir, you can't just—"

"I just need to speak with him for a short while," Hwoarang interrupted, aware of two security guards that had moved behind him.

"Unfortunately, it doesn't quite work that way," the receptionist stared at Hwoarang coldly.

Suddenly, Hwoarang reached over and grabbed the receptionist by the collar of her uniform.

"Why did you try to kill me and the closest person I have to a father?" he whispered into her ear, seething with anger.

The two security guards quickly hooked their arms between Hwoarang's and dragged him away.

"Call the Head of Security," one guard told the other.

The guard pressed a button on his radio pack. "Mr. Chaolan, did you see what happened in the lobby?"

"Yes…bring the young man to holding room B. I'll be there," the man on the radio responded.

"Come on, hotshot…" the guard instructed, escorting him down the hall to the right.

* * *

Hwoarang was seated in a cold, steel chair in the small blue room. The long, silver table was separated him and the silver-haired on the other side. 

"So…Hwoarang, was it? Our receptionist has made a statement saying that after asking to see the head of the Mishima Zaibatsu several times, you accused her of trying to kill you and your father…mind explaining what you mean by that?" the silver-haired man motioned at the pen in his hand toward the microphone on the table. The microphone was connected to a laptop in front of the silver-haired man for recording purposes.

"I didn't say that. I said the closest person I have to a father. I have no idea who my real father is," Hwoarang flatly stated.

"In either case, the Mishima Zaibatsu is a pharmaceutical company. Could you fathom any reason why a major pharmaceutical company would want to target either you or this man?" the silver-haired man leaned back in his chair, bored, obviously thinking that this would lead nowhere.

"I don't know, but I want to know what's happening! I owe Baek that much…" Hwoarang looked at the silver-haired man. He was losing hope, fast.

Curious, the silver-haired man typed in the name "Baek" in the Zaibatsu database on his laptop. As the program cycled through names, it came up with no results.

The silver-haired man turned the laptop toward Hwoarang. "See? I just did a database search for the name 'Baek,' and cross-referenced it with every name related in any way to the Mishima Zaibatsu dating back 10 years. Nothing is here," the silver-haired man explained. "Now, I won't press charges, but—"

"Wait," Hwoarang interrupted, pointing at the laptop screen. The silver-haired man looked at him dubiously and turned it back towards him. On the bottom of the screen, the name "Baek Doo San" was highlighted in green. Under his name, in red bold letters, was "CLASS S SECURITY".

_Oh shit…Baek Doo San was a target for…the project…_

"What do you want with him!" Hwoarang leapt across the table. This new information made his blood boil.

_Everything that had happened to me…to Jin…to Ling and her friend. And the ghost…it was all true. Everything was validated. _

"Guards! Get him to Class D security! Extract any information he knows about our project!" the silver-haired man yelled loudly. Several security guards picked Hwoarang up off the table and pulled him to the ground, pinning him. "You," the silver-haired man pointed to one of the men, "alert my father. All Class D security breaches go straight to him, without exception. Make sure he hears of this swiftly. Tell the others to contact me as soon as they have something!" The silver haired man quickly left the room in a huff.

_I don't know how, but know something, kid…and after you tell us exactly how you found out what you know, we have no use for you._

_

* * *

_

"Our job is to get you to talk. One way or the other, you will talk, boy," a bald man with a scruffy voice threatened as he finished tying the last wrist constraint.

They had stripped Hwoarang of his shirt and tied him to a metal rack. The more skin that was in contact with the conductive metal, the more pain electric shock torture would cause.

"If I knew something, I would have told you when you guys were sucker-punching me in the stomach for the last hour," he replied coldly.

The bald man scowled at him. "Let's test this machine out, why won't we?" The bald man snapped his fingers. Another bald, ugly man in front of the machine flipped the switch

Suddenly, Hwoarang twitched uncontrollably on the rack as electricity coursed through his body. It felt as if his muscles wanted to burst out of his skin. He screamed in agony as they moved unnaturally on the bone.

The bald man snapped again, and the electric current stopped, leaving Hwoarang breathless.

"Jeez," Hwoarang muttered, breathing heavily, "that was fun…"

The bald man snapped.

Electricity

Pain.

Snap.

Hwoarang didn't know how much more he could take of this.

_I'll probably die here…I really **don't** know any more…I already tried making up shit…they won't believe anything until they hear what they want to hear…_

The bald man swept his arm over a nearby table. Various scrap metal trinkets flew off the table and onto the ground, making a loud cacophonous crash. He sat on the table and lit a cigarette, blowing smoke directly into Hwoarang's face.

"You've said some pretty _interesting_ things up there, kid. Mind explaining yourself?" the bald man took another drag from his cigarette.

"Nah…that's O.K. Actually, would one of you mind getting me a cup of water?" he motioned over at the water cooler in the room on the opposite wall.

The bald man made that ugly scowl once again. Suddenly, he chuckled. "You know kid, at the higher voltages, this machine can run enough electricity through your body that your muscles will snap in two."

_I think this voltage already can do that…_ Hwoarang thought.

"Sounds fun," he mocked, thinking that the next round of electric shock would be his last. _I want to go out with a **bang.**_

Snap.

Hwoarang didn't try to squelch is screams this time. He really thought this was the end. He suddenly thought of all of the craziness that had happened in the past several days. The visions…the forest…that strange dream…everything was real. Everything.

_And now…I make my grand exit…_

Suddenly, the electricity stopped.

_Damn…I was **really** ready this time…_

"Ready for another dose?"

"Bring it, shitface."

_And don't hold back this time, fucker. Crank that bitch up._

Suddenly, the door to the room opened, and he saw three feminine figures at the entryway.

_Angels? _one voice thought.

_Angels? When in the hell did you believe in angels?_ another voice in his head berated the other.

"What the…Ling? Uhh…girl from school?" he muttered weakly.

_I really wanted to call her 'bitch from school', but 'girl' is easier to say…_

"This doesn't look good…" an entirely new bitch that he hadn't seen before said as he saw the various men in the room mobilize.

"That depends from where you're sitting…" the bald man pulled out a handgun.

_The bane of my motherfucking existence._

_

* * *

_

**Note: Well then…this "short" interlude turned out to be longer than expected. I just kept typing and typing and typing.**

**And apologies to anybody offended by the excessive language in this chapter. I imagine Hwoarang to be a foul-mouthed character.**


End file.
